Chess Game
by Rafael Zea
Summary: JD, MR, DS and FM are pawns in a huge game of chess
1. Default Chapter

TITLE: Chess Game I: The Pawns  
  
ORIGINAL TITLE IN SPANISH: Tablero de Ajedrez. Los Peones  
  
AUTHORS: Rafael Zea (rafaelzeap@terra.com.co) and Missy K   
  
(missy_kath@hotmail.com)  
  
DISCLAIMER: The characters from The X-Files used in this   
  
story belong to Chris Carter, 20th Century Fox and 1013   
  
Productions. It is not our intention to infringe the   
  
copyright laws.  
  
CLASSIFICATION: WIP (1/3); X-File, with a subtle touch of MSR   
  
and DRR.  
  
RATING: PG-13  
  
SPOILERS: This story takes place after "Existence". There are   
  
some references to "Syzygy," "Invocation," "Dead Alive," and   
  
"Empedocles". "Jump the Shark", "William", and "Release"   
  
never happened.  
  
SUMMARY: Doggett, Reyes, Scully and Mulder are just pawns in   
  
a huge chess game...  
  
Author's Note: This tale was first published in August 2001   
  
and is available at   
  
http://www.silverbug-x-files.com/relato910.htm  
  
-------------------------------  
  
UNKNOWN LOCATION  
  
2:30 A.M.  
  
"It's possible that the sedatives are no longer working," the   
  
nurse said, looking through the window of a closed room.   
  
Inside, a woman was walking around, whispering phrases that   
  
made no sense. "It's dangerous to be in contact with her, and   
  
we'd rather not get her angry. She usually has violent   
  
episodes and she's hard to control by force because she's   
  
very strong."  
  
"Is she always in this condition?" a woman in black clothes   
  
asked.  
  
"Yes, she is. She has attacked two doctors this week. I   
  
advise you not to enter. She is very aggressive," the nurse   
  
said.  
  
"I know," the woman admitted. "But I will get in... Right   
  
now," she added immediately, pushing the nurse aside, who   
  
stepped back, scared.  
  
The woman entered the room, closing the door behind her. The   
  
walls were covered with padding in order to protect the   
  
patient from hurting herself when she hit them during her   
  
frequent violent episodes. A closed-circuit camera watched   
  
over every movement inside the room, not only to prevent her   
  
from injuring herself, but also to inform the doctors about   
  
the tiniest change in her behaviour. The temperature was kept   
  
constant and relaxing music was heard day and night. It was   
  
the typical cold hospital room: one bed, one chair and one   
  
table were the only furniture. The visitor went over to the   
  
patient, who looked at her without recognizing her.  
  
"Long time no see!" the woman exclaimed, greeting the   
  
patient.  
  
The patient, a skinny, pale woman, did not answer. She was   
  
clad only in a white robe and slippers of the same colour.   
  
Some of her fingers were bandaged because she had tried to   
  
tear them off. Facing her unknown visitor, the patient tried   
  
to remember the name belonging to that somehow familiar face.   
  
As the two women were facing each other, the patient got   
  
flustered and began to pull her own hair, emitting a   
  
threatening sound. She tried to evade the visitor, but the   
  
anonymous woman stopped her. The disrupted patient became   
  
violent and was no longer a human being. Like a wild animal,   
  
she howled in anger and fell upon the visitor.  
  
The alarm went off and the steps of doctors and nurses were   
  
heard in the hall.  
  
Screaming and using her fists, the patient pushed the visitor   
  
against the wall. It seemed like she couldn't speak any   
  
coherent words. In spite of being attacked, the visitor   
  
stayed quiet, and when the attacker wanted to hit her, she   
  
gritted her teeth and grabbed the patient's wrists, coming as   
  
close to her as she could.  
  
"Finally, we see each other again, Diana Fowley..." the   
  
visitor whispered as she injected the patient in the arm with   
  
a strange drug.  
  
Immediately after the injection, the patient began to give up   
  
her fury. As she heard her own name pronounced by the   
  
visitor, her eyes glowed with a special, old shine. The   
  
visitor, Marita Covarrubias, smiled.  
  
"You came to make sure I was dead, didn't you?" Diana asked,   
  
lowering her arms and feeling even more of the effects of the   
  
injected drug.  
  
"This isn't the first time that we've had to pretend that one   
  
of our members was dead, Agent Fowley," Marita answered.   
  
"Now, I'm here to offer you the chance to come back to   
  
life..."  
  
"In return for...?"  
  
"Before I answer your question, I want you to catch up on   
  
some things that have happened while you were locked away in   
  
this padded room. First, Agent Mulder was abducted by aliens,   
  
and then he was released in such a serious condition that he   
  
was declared dead and buried. But three months later, he was   
  
dug up, alive. In order to save Mulder's life, it was   
  
necessary to inject him with an experimental vaccine   
  
developed by the doctors of the Consortium. Second, the   
  
Cigarette Smoking Man and Agent Krycek are both supposedly   
  
dead. Third, I am in charge of fighting the war against the   
  
invaders, along with some survivors from the old Consortium.   
  
And fourth... Agent Scully became pregnant by Mulder, and   
  
although several attempts were made to prevent her from   
  
giving birth to her son, he was born..."  
  
"Damn bitch! Wasn't she barren?"  
  
"Well, that is another long and hard-to-believe story, like   
  
the one about the existence of intelligent beings beyond   
  
Earth. But that's why I came here. We want you back with us.   
  
We know about your past with Agent Mulder and that you hate   
  
Agent Scully, so you can help us to get their baby, who is   
  
worthy of the Consortium's attention from a *scientific*   
  
point of view because it seems that he is the first   
  
successful prototype of a hybrid race able to survive the   
  
alien invasion."  
  
"Believe me, Marita, I'll be very pleased to help the   
  
Consortium one more time."  
  
"OK. An order from me and we will be travelling to Washington   
  
within five minutes. Time is our enemy right now, so we need   
  
to hurry!"  
  
-------------------------------  
  
WASHINGTON D.C.  
  
6:10 P.M.  
  
Marita Covarrubias gave new clothes to Diana Fowley and, as   
  
Diana changed, Marita filled out the paperwork necessary for   
  
Diana's release. The two women and a mysterious man in a   
  
black suit, who had accompanied Covarrubias, left the mental   
  
hospital in a car that took them to a US Air Force airplane   
  
with a destination to Washington. Diana thought that the   
  
insane asylum in which she had been locked away was located   
  
far away, due to the fact that the flight wasn't until the   
  
early morning, with a stopover at an unidentified military   
  
base. Finally, the plane landed at Andrews Base when the sun   
  
was setting on the horizon. Then, Diana, Marita and the   
  
Black-Suit Man got in a limousine parked on the runway of the   
  
military airport. A few minutes after leaving Andrews Base,   
  
the car stopped to pick up a man, who had been impatiently   
  
waiting for them for a long time...  
  
The door of the limousine was opened and Marita Covarrubias   
  
invited the man to get in the car.  
  
"Special Agent John Doggett? Please excuse us for making you   
  
wait so long. Come with us."  
  
Doggett, with his gun grasped inside the pocket of his coat,   
  
got in the limousine. The car started running again,   
  
screeching its wheels on the pavement. There was a surprise   
  
when Doggett saw the passengers...  
  
"Agent Fowley!" Doggett exclaimed. "What are you doing   
  
here... Alive?"  
  
"Oh, John Doggett. I'm seeing you and I can't believe it!"   
  
Diana said, recognizing Doggett. "You were seriously wounded   
  
in Lebanon and came back home. Weren't you dead?"  
  
"I could say the same thing. You were supposedly killed for   
  
having helped Mulder to escape from a scientific-military   
  
complex. Weren't you?" Doggett replied.  
  
"As you see, I'm not dead at all. It seems like both of us   
  
are definitively alive, for better or worse..." Fowley joked.  
  
"Do you two know each other?" Marita asked as she heard the   
  
familiar exchange of words between Doggett and Fowley.  
  
"Let's say that we know each other because of our respective   
  
reputations. Agent Doggett was well known for his work as an   
  
outstanding military man in the Middle East," Diana answered.  
  
"...And Agent Fowley has a very long record of successfully   
  
solved cases related to the fight against terrorism," Doggett   
  
added. "But, please, let's put this issue to one side and get   
  
to the point. What am I here for?"  
  
"As you and Agent Reyes know, Agent Scully gave birth to a   
  
boy conceived with Agent Mulder, and *helped* by the   
  
technology developed by our scientists," commented the Black-  
  
Suit Man, talking for the first time. "As far as we know,   
  
that baby is the first perfect prototype of a species of   
  
*superhumans*, able to survive the alien invasion because he   
  
is immune to human illnesses and the virus that the   
  
extraterrestrials are trying to use to destroy mankind and   
  
take over the Earth," the strange man continued.  
  
"That's not true. The boy has been examined by several   
  
physicians, and they didn't find anything abnormal or   
  
anything *superhuman*, as you say, in him," Doggett said in   
  
denial.  
  
"He's just apparently *normal*. As he grows, the special   
  
characteristics that make him different and useful to our   
  
purposes will begin to be evident," Marita corrected Doggett.  
  
"And...? I don't understand what I have to do with the whole   
  
thing yet..." the agent pointed out.  
  
"You are the key man for our interests, Mr. Doggett. As Agent   
  
Scully has the FBI's protection, we need someone to make   
  
things easier for us to break security and get the baby,"   
  
Covarrubias said, clarifying the situation for Doggett.  
  
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Doggett answered in   
  
anger. "Of course, I wouldn't take part in such a cowardly   
  
act against Scully, Mulder and their son!" Doggett added   
  
furiously.  
  
"Mr. Doggett, don't hurry to say no. When we called you, we   
  
said that we had some information that could be very   
  
interesting to you," the Black-Suit Man said, trying to tempt   
  
Doggett.  
  
"That's the only reason I'm here. What kind of information do   
  
you have for me?" Doggett asked, losing his last bit of   
  
patience.  
  
"You must go to this place tomorrow," the Black-Suit Man   
  
said, handing Doggett a card with an address written on it.   
  
"There, one of our men will talk to you about the whereabouts   
  
of your son, Luke."  
  
"My son is dead," Doggett said, trying to reject the card.  
  
"You and the rest of the world thought the same thing about   
  
me but, as you can prove yourself, I am alive... And your son   
  
is also alive!" Fowley assured him.  
  
Doggett hesitated for a second, then he took the card and put   
  
it in his wallet, along with his FBI badge. The mere mention   
  
of Luke had disturbed him a lot. The agent filled his lungs   
  
with air.  
  
"In simple terms, what you want is to exchange one boy for   
  
another. You want to blackmail me with Luke in order to   
  
achieve your goal. Don't count on me for that. I won't allow   
  
you to take advantage of my mourning to kill an innocent   
  
baby... I had enough pain with the death of my own son to   
  
have another boy's death on my conscience. Neither Mulder nor   
  
I will allow you to do that!" Doggett replied energetically.  
  
"Think it over anyway, Agent Doggett. We are offering you the   
  
chance to get rid of your pain by recovering Luke and helping   
  
mankind in the process," Marita said, trying to convince   
  
Doggett to think over the proposal.  
  
"I can't understand how the death of a kid is regarded as   
  
*helping mankind*," Doggett said in confusion.  
  
"Nobody has said that Mulder and Scully's son has to die. On   
  
the contrary, it is more convenient for us to keep William   
  
Mulder III alive. We must study his exceptional condition   
  
and, based on it, develop an immunological strategy against   
  
the invaders, in addition to creating clones of him with his   
  
same physical strength and his capability to regenerate   
  
himself," the Black-Suit Man pointed out.  
  
"For God's sake! He's not a laboratory mouse! Forget it!"   
  
Doggett exploded. "Stop the car! Stop this damn car right   
  
now!"  
  
The limousine braked roughly. Doggett opened the door and got   
  
out of the car by leaping. Then, the agent walked away   
  
without looking back.  
  
"No matter what you say now, our contact will be at the   
  
address we gave you tomorrow at noon. You have all night to   
  
make a decision. It is convenient for you..." Marita   
  
Covarrubias said, her voice heard by Doggett outside the car.  
  
The last words from the woman made Doggett stop, but the man   
  
didn't turn around. The wheels of the car screeched once   
  
again on the pavement as the vehicle turned the next corner,   
  
disappearing in darkness.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
POTOMAC CAFE  
  
WASHINGTON D.C.  
  
8:55 P.M.  
  
While his mind was an actual battlefield between his feelings   
  
and loyalties, Doggett wandered the foggy streets of the   
  
capital of the United States, and found himself in front of a   
  
cafe that he and Monica used to visit frequently in their   
  
spare time. Surprisingly, she was there, drinking a   
  
cappuccino and reading a book. As soon as Doggett saw Reyes,   
  
he walked in the cafe and went over to her table, sitting   
  
down beside her.  
  
"Hi, Mon," Doggett greeted his partner, kissing her right   
  
cheek. "I didn't think to find you here."  
  
"Hello, John," Reyes answered, kissing him the same way. "I   
  
was calling you all afternoon, but your cell phone seemed to   
  
be turned off. Where were you?"  
  
"I was collecting confidential information on a possible   
  
case," Doggest said as an excuse, lying.  
  
"That's strange. Before I left the office, I ran across   
  
Skinner in the hall and he didn't say anything about the   
  
subject. Did you talk to him?" Monica asked, surprised.  
  
"No. Not today. Yesterday, he told me about it but had no   
  
details. He asked me to pick up some documents, and that's   
  
what I did."  
  
"You look worried."  
  
"It's nothing..."  
  
"I know you better than anyone else, John Jay Doggett,"   
  
Monica emphasized, grabbing Doggett's face with her hands.   
  
"Please, look at me and tell me what's going on... You're not   
  
good at telling lies..."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with me," Doggett answered, not even   
  
convinced by his own words and trying not to look into her   
  
brown eyes. "I simply had a rough day."  
  
"Luke?"  
  
"I guess that it's impossible to conceal anything from you,   
  
Mon. Your gifts of perception can reveal any secret," he   
  
said. "Yes, I was thinking about Luke..." he added and,   
  
although it was true, it worked also as an excuse for his   
  
behaviour.  
  
"Shhh... Both of us suffered for him," Monica said him,   
  
pausing to clear the lump in her throat. "We worked hard   
  
looking for him, and then we found him... murdered..."  
  
"As it happened with Mulder and his sister, and then with   
  
Scully and Mulder..." Doggett admitted, bowing his head.  
  
"But unlike Samantha and Luke, Mulder's case had a *happy   
  
ending*, absolutely illogical and defying common sense, but   
  
undeniably real," Reyes added.  
  
"You know, Monica, it'll sound foolish, but after everything   
  
that happened to Mulder, I've thought more than once that..."  
  
"No, John!" Monica closed Doggett's mouth by placing her   
  
index finger on his lips. "We both saw Luke's dead body. We   
  
were together at his burial. It was three years ago... It's   
  
impossible..."  
  
"Since I was assigned to the X-Files, I have heard that word   
  
hundreds of times, and you've also heard it several times,   
  
even though you're here less than I am," Doggett said.  
  
"Please, don't talk about such painful memories anymore," she   
  
said. "Why don't you tell me why what you're investigating is   
  
so secret anyway?"  
  
"Monica, it's past 9:00. Besides, I didn't get any really   
  
significant..." Doggett trailed off. He had nothing to tell   
  
his partner, really. "The world won't end if we take the   
  
night off."  
  
"You're right," she admitted, picking up some papers and the   
  
book she was reading. "Let's go. From this moment until   
  
morning, you are mine."  
  
They both immediately went to Doggett's house.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT  
  
GEORGETOWN, VIRGINIA  
  
(THE NEXT DAY)  
  
Mulder was not part of the FBI anymore, neither as Special   
  
Agent of the Bureau nor as someone directly related to the X-  
  
Files Section. Since the beginning of John Doggett's   
  
investigation against Deputy Director Alvin Kersh, and after   
  
having proven some charges of corruption against Kersh, the   
  
FBI had offered Mulder the position of External Adviser of   
  
the Bureau. He was not hired as an employee but as a   
  
consultant who provided his analysis on a specific case with   
  
psychological or paranormal elements that, in the opinion of   
  
Doggett, Reyes or Scully, deserved to be investigated with   
  
non-traditional police methods. On the other hand, though   
  
Scully was still in the X-Files Section, as her maternity   
  
leave had ended, she was not assigned to dangerous cases. She   
  
taught classes at Quantico Academy, researched databases,   
  
questioned suspects, and conducted medical evidence analysis.   
  
Doggett and Reyes were in charge of the "dirty work," and, by   
  
Skinner's order, Scully had been banned from doing autopsies.  
  
Mulder spent most of his time with Scully and Maggie, who   
  
lived with them and her grandson. Since William had been   
  
born, Mulder and Scully had publicly acknowledged their   
  
relationship as a couple. First, because it was impossible to   
  
deny it any longer given the events, and, second, as Mulder   
  
was not an FBI employee anymore and, therefore, was not   
  
Scully's partner, the rules of the Bureau could not stop them   
  
from living together.  
  
The ex-agent would be happy in his new role as a father,   
  
although he hadn't grown accustomed to it yet. At forty years   
  
old, Mulder thought, it was a little late to start a family   
  
because by the time he was sixty, his teenage children (And   
  
he thought of children in the plural) would look like his   
  
grandchildren, not his children. However, after being   
  
abducted, declared *dead*, buried, and dug up, Mulder   
  
regarded his new situation as a second chance that life had   
  
given him, and he had to take advantage of it because it   
  
could be his last chance...  
  
"What are you thinking about, dear?" Scully asked, seeing   
  
that Mulder's mind was miles away.  
  
"Oh..." he answered, coming back to Earth. "I was thinking   
  
about all of the changes that have occurred in such a short   
  
time... I was *dead* for three months and my recovery is   
  
almost unexplainable. You were barren and, in spite of it,   
  
our pleas were heard and you got pregnant. William was born,   
  
the X-Files weren't shut down, I was given a part-time job,   
  
etc, etc."  
  
"Now we are three."  
  
"Four. Don't forget Reyes."  
  
"I wasn't talking about the FBI, but us and the baby. We are   
  
a family now, and we can't take the same risks we used to. I   
  
can't imagine my life without you."  
  
"Neither can I."  
  
"You and I are now *parents*. It sounds strange, doesn't it?"  
  
"Have you ever thought about the fact that when our son   
  
finishes high school, we'll be a pair of old people?"  
  
"Of course I have... you'll be 60 and I'll be 57."  
  
"And we are just referring to the eldest... What about the   
  
younger ones?"  
  
"What do you mean 'the younger ones'?"  
  
"I'm assuming Will won't be the only one..."  
  
"Yeah, as you aren't the one who has to deal with a big belly   
  
and pushing for hours in a maternity room, dealing with   
  
contractions..."  
  
"I know exactly what it's like. I gave birth to you and   
  
Melissa, Bill and Charlie..." Maggie Scully said while   
  
knitting. She had been listening to the conversation, but   
  
hadn't wanted to take part in it. "Believe me, daughter. The   
  
pains and the sacrifices are worthwhile."  
  
"You heard your mother, Dana. We should follow her advice,"   
  
Mulder hinted in sarcasm.  
  
"Ha, ha!" Scully answered. "Stop thinking about increasing   
  
the birth rate of the District of Columbia."  
  
"OK, whatever..."  
  
-------------------------------  
  
JOHN DOGGETT'S RESIDENCE  
  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA  
  
It was 9 a.m. After a very intense night, Doggett and Reyes   
  
had lost all sense of time. They would both arrive at the   
  
office later than usual. However, Monica didn't care about   
  
that as much as the feeling that Doggett hadn't told her   
  
everything that was happening to him.  
  
"Come on, John! Tell me what's going on," Reyes insisted from   
  
Doggett's bed.  
  
"You're too sensitive, Mon, but, although you don't believe   
  
me, there's nothing wrong with me," Doggett said from the   
  
bathroom while shaving. As he walked out, completely dressed,   
  
he stared at her in a thoughtful way. She smiled, challenging   
  
him.  
  
"Of course I'm sensitive. And I know that something has   
  
happened to you, John. You're having some sort of inner   
  
conflict you don't want to tell me about. And it has nothing   
  
to do with Luke."  
  
Doggett came closer to her, walking slowly. As he knotted his   
  
tie, he bent towards Reyes' ear.  
  
"If it were true, what would you give me in return if I tell   
  
you?" he whispered.  
  
"You know... something like last night," she mumbled.  
  
"Equal to that?" Doggett asked, kissing her left ear gently.  
  
"Hmmm, maybe raised several times..." Reyes pointed out,   
  
smiling. Then she moved ahead to kissing his lips.  
  
Doggett's cell phone interrupted the romantic moment between   
  
him and his partner. Reyes stood up and went to the bathroom   
  
to take a shower. Doggett answered the call.  
  
"Doggett."  
  
"Good morning, Doggett. It's Mulder."  
  
"Hi, Mulder."  
  
"I was thinking about coming into the office. Do you have   
  
anything for me? I'm so tired of changing diapers all day."  
  
Doggett kept quiet for a few seconds, remembering last   
  
night's conversation in the limousine. The agent remembered   
  
the card he had been given and the appointment at noon about   
  
Luke...  
  
"Helloooo... Are you there...?" Mulder questioned from the   
  
other side of the line, not hearing Doggett's voice.  
  
'Uh... oh... look, Mulder... I have to run some personal   
  
errands this morning before going to the Hoover Building. If   
  
you want, go there after lunch. I'll tell Monica to look over   
  
the new cases and see whether there's anything paranormal for   
  
you, Mulder. Anyway, wait for me if you get there earlier,"   
  
Doggett said nervously.  
  
"Perfect. See you this afternoon."  
  
"OK."  
  
Doggett shook his head in concern. The noise of Monica's   
  
shower brought back the image of the park where Luke's body   
  
had been found, the shower reminding him of the wet leaves   
  
blowing in the wind. When Mulder had called, Doggett had been   
  
determined not to go to the appointment where he would be   
  
given proof of Luke's survival, in exchange for his   
  
cooperation with the Consortium. But now Doggett believed   
  
that he must go. In the end, he thought, he had not signed   
  
any contract nor made any deal with anyone, so he had nothing   
  
to lose. If the information wasn't reliable, the issue ended   
  
right there. Nobody would know. Never. Not even Monica. It   
  
wasn't pleasant to bring back that sad memory, which had   
  
allowed him to first meet her but was very painful for them   
  
both. And what if the information was reliable...?  
  
In the bathroom, Monica Reyes finished her shower. She   
  
gulped, looking at herself in the mirror and feeling the same   
  
lump in her throat she had felt last night when she had   
  
talked to Doggett about Luke. Something inside her said that   
  
John hadn't told her the truth.  
  
And Doggett was lying to her...  
  
-------------------------------  
  
UNKNOWN LOCATION  
  
11:48 A.M.  
  
"It wasn't at all nice that you made me *die*," Fowley   
  
complained. Marita looked at her in irony.  
  
"As I told you, this isn't the first time that we've had to   
  
*retire* one of our members for a while."  
  
"So tell me why you did it."  
  
"After you made the very stupid mistake of helping Agent   
  
Scully to rescue Mulder, we realized that things weren't   
  
right."  
  
"I had my own plan..." Diana said, trying to defend herself.  
  
"We didn't know anything about your plan. Helping to rescue   
  
Mulder was regarded as treason by the Cigarette Smoking Man   
  
and the survivors of the former Consortium," Marita replied.   
  
"It was decided that you must be neutralized for a long time,   
  
so that the rest of the world would think you were dead. That   
  
night, at home, you actually were shot, but the bullet was   
  
not a real bullet but a sedative. While unconscious, you were   
  
taken to the mental hospital with another name. A hybrid   
  
clone was placed in your house and your murder was officially   
  
announced."  
  
"That's disgusting!" Diana exploded.  
  
"Shut up! You asked me to tell the truth. Scully got a false   
  
call reporting your 'death'. She went to your house and   
  
identified the 'corpse' as yours, completing the deceit.   
  
Mulder was also informed by Scully, and the whole FBI   
  
believed that Agent Diana Fowley had died. You underwent some   
  
neurological and behavioural experiments in that insane   
  
asylum."  
  
"You bitch..."  
  
"Eventually, the Cigarette Smoking Man ordered another test   
  
to be run on you, Diana," Marita said, interrupting her. "He   
  
wanted to prove that in normal people, like you, the   
  
stimulation of the temporal lobe of the brain can turn a   
  
normal human being into an animal."  
  
"Damn bastard!" Fowley exclaimed. "I was used as a guinea   
  
pig!"  
  
"All of those scientific experiments were started by the   
  
Consortium as part of a research program in which the special   
  
characteristics of Fox Mulder's brain was its best sample."  
  
"You're right, but the Consortium did not have any right to   
  
experiment on my body," Fowley said in a bitter tone.  
  
"Our cause demands several sacrifices from its members, my   
  
dear Diana," Marita added. "As a result of the tests that   
  
doctors made on your neurological system, you lost your mind   
  
and went back to the most primitive human condition. In   
  
simple terms, the verbal and psychomotor areas of your brain   
  
became atrophied. You were like an animal..."  
  
"Damn all of you!"  
  
"But the experiment was a success," Marita Covarrubias   
  
asserted coldly.  
  
"So now what?"  
  
Marita's cell phone rang, causing Diana to start.  
  
"I was waiting for your call. Right..." she paused then a   
  
smile of satisfaction appeared on her face. "Perfect!   
  
Thanks." Marita turned off the phone. "It was our contact. It   
  
seems Agent Doggett has swallowed the hook. This is the first   
  
step in our plans."  
  
"If Doggett accepts, I would like to ask you for a favor,"   
  
Diana Fowley said.  
  
"What is it?" Covarrubias asked, turning around and looking   
  
directly into Diana's eyes.  
  
"Once we approach Scully, could we also catch her? I can't   
  
wait to get my hands on that redhead!" Diana exclaimed in a   
  
morbid way.  
  
"First thing first, Diana. Our priority is the baby. Then, if   
  
possible, you can do whatever you want with Agent Scully.   
  
It's not my business whether she lives or not... It depends   
  
on whether Agent Mulder comes back alive from the place we'll   
  
be sending him. Nevertheless, his genetic condition is only   
  
one reason why he's still alive. As the Cigarette Smoking Man   
  
once said, 'Mulder is more useful to our purposes alive than   
  
dead...'"  
  
"And what about me?" Fowley asked, concerned about her own   
  
future.  
  
"I don't know yet. You are still *dead* to the rest of the   
  
world," Covarrubias concluded.  
  
------------------------------  
  
LINCOLN MEMORIAL  
  
WASHINGTON D.C.  
  
11:57 A.M.  
  
Doggett arrived at the Lincoln Monument, the place that had   
  
been chosen for his appointment with the Consortium contact,   
  
at three minutes before noon. To get rid of Monica, Doggett   
  
had said that he needed to trace a clue related to the case   
  
he had been secretly investigating the day before. Once the   
  
investigation against Deputy Director Kersh had closed, Agent   
  
Doggett started making time in his schedule to work on   
  
another project, without Monica's or the rest of the FBI's   
  
knowledge. He was trying to tie up the loose ends of the   
  
case involving Bob Harvey, the alleged murderer of his son,   
  
Luke. John wanted to know whether Harvey had committed the   
  
crime alone or in complicity with someone else. In addition,   
  
Doggett had tried to establish whether Luke had been an   
  
isolated victim of the killer or part of a series of serial   
  
killings, and whether Jeb Dukes, the strange man shot by   
  
Reyes, had had any involvement in the issue. However, his   
  
former theories made no sense if Luke John Doggett was alive.   
  
If his son was alive, John was determined to pay the price to   
  
get him back, whatever it was. He just needed proof. One   
  
single piece of proof and he would believe...  
  
"Agent Doggett?" a man in a black suit, with umbrella and   
  
raincoat, asked, walking towards Doggett. It was a different   
  
man from the one Doggett had met yesterday.  
  
"Yes, I'm John Doggett. Who are you?" Doggett said, raising   
  
his eyes because the other man was taller than him. He was   
  
almost two meters tall.  
  
"My name doesn't matter. What does matter is what I have for   
  
you..." this second Black-Suit Man said, opening a briefcase   
  
with a yellow envelope inside.  
  
"Is my son alive...? Do you know where he is?" Doggett asked   
  
quickly, trying to take the envelope.  
  
"Not so fast, my friend!" the second Black-Suit Man stopped   
  
him. "Your son Luke John Doggett is alive, in perfect   
  
physical condition, and in a safe place. More details about   
  
his location are in these documents, which will be delivered   
  
as soon as you fulfill your part of the deal."  
  
"We don't have any deal, OK? First of all, I need evidence,   
  
solid evidence that proves what you're telling me is true. Do   
  
you have that? How do I know you're not deceiving me, and my   
  
son is, as far as I know, dead?" Doggett argued, his right   
  
hand shaking.  
  
"If you need to see to believe, then see," the man declared,   
  
giving Doggett a photograph. In the picture there was a group   
  
of kids at a child's birthday party, held apparently in an   
  
orphanage. On the edge of the photo a date was printed:   
  
September 7th, 2000.  
  
"Imagine the wish the boy blowing out the candles is making,"   
  
the second Black-Suit Man said.  
  
The boy from the photograph was blond and blue-eyed, with   
  
messy hair and a birthmark on the left side of his neck, just   
  
below his jaw, in exactly the same place Luke Doggett had had   
  
one. If the picture was genuine, the date printed on it was   
  
Luke's tenth birthday. The boy had disappeared on December   
  
8th, 1997 and, shortly after, was found dead...  
  
"He is Luke! It's his birthday party!" John Doggett   
  
exclaimed, stunned. His eyes were wide open in surprise.  
  
"He was rescued from Bob Harvey's hands. Harvey was a mad man   
  
who once worked for us, but then wanted to change his   
  
loyalties. That's why we had to make up the whole case and   
  
send Agent Reyes to investigate it along with you..."  
  
"Are you telling me that Monica is also on your side?"   
  
Doggett said, even more surprised. "I know her like the back   
  
of my hand and I can't accept the idea that she's involved in   
  
this dirty plot. We both were there. We both saw Luke's body.   
  
We both identified him..."  
  
"Please don't misunderstand me, Mr. Doggett. Agent Reyes is   
  
an absolutely honest person, and one of the best agents in   
  
the Bureau. She was simply manipulated. You were both   
  
manipulated. We made you see what we wanted you to see and   
  
know what we wanted you to know. Everything in that case was   
  
false, from the first piece of evidence to the last."  
  
"You could be doing the same thing right now," the agent   
  
replied skeptically.  
  
"If you don't believe me, there is something else that will   
  
convince you," the second Black-Suit Man took a military   
  
shield from his pocket. The same military shield from Lebanon   
  
that Doggett had given to Luke on his last birthday. The   
  
agent took the shield in his trembling hands and looked at   
  
the man.  
  
"Do you still have any doubts?" The man asked.  
  
"That's enough!" Doggett shouted. "Tell me what I have to do   
  
to get my son back," he added after a pause.  
  
"I see that you're finally understanding," the man asserted   
  
as he opened another compartment in his briefcase and gave   
  
two folders to Doggett. "In the first stage of the plan, two   
  
false cases will be assigned to Agent Reyes and External   
  
Adviser Mulder, in order to keep them away for a few days.   
  
These folders contain information on a pair of false cases in   
  
South Dakota, which will attract Mulder and Reyes' attention   
  
for sure. It would be better if Agent Reyes and Mr. Mulder   
  
believe that the investigations are legitimate and not   
  
suspect anything."  
  
Doggett listened to the man quietly. The man went on   
  
speaking.  
  
"In the second stage, while they are wasting their time in   
  
South Dakota, you will be here in Washington helping us get   
  
Scully's baby. As soon as we have the boy in our   
  
laboratories, you will be given the location of your son, and   
  
Luke will be back with you and Agent Reyes."  
  
"Scully doesn't deserve this. Neither does Mulder or   
  
William... I feel like a damn spy!" Agent Doggett grumbled   
  
sadly.  
  
"Let me remind you that, if at last minute you decide not to   
  
help us, you will never see Luke again, and Agent Reyes will   
  
have an unfortunate accident, along with Mulder, at Mount   
  
Rushmore..." the second Black-Suit Man said, threatening   
  
Doggett.  
  
"You son of a bitch!" John bellowed, wielding his gun.  
  
"If I were you, I wouldn't try to do that, Agent Doggett. If you   
  
shoot me, you won't be able to take a single step before   
  
being a dead man," the second Black-Suit Man warned Doggett,   
  
pointing out several men who were watching them.  
  
Without saying a word, Doggett took the two folders and went   
  
away.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
X-FILES OFFICE  
  
1:26 P.M.  
  
Doggett came back to his office in the Hoover Building's   
  
basement and didn't find anyone. On his desk, he found a   
  
written note that said:  
  
John, where the hell are you? I had to go out for lunch   
  
ALONE. I'm coming back at 1:30. Monica.  
  
After reading the note, the agent grimaced in anger because   
  
he was *sure* that Monica had had lunch with Assistant   
  
Director Brad Follmer, who Monica had once been in love with   
  
and who never missed the chance to flirt with her every time   
  
he - Doggett - focused his attention on other issues.  
  
The door opened at that moment.  
  
"Good afternoon, Doggett," Mulder said as he came in.  
  
"Hi, Mulder," Doggett answered, his back turned to him   
  
because he was taking a look at the folders the second Black-  
  
Suit Man had given him. Then, turning to Mulder, Doggett   
  
shook his hand. "How are Dana and Will?"  
  
"Fine, thanks. Sorry for arriving late, but Ma Maggie   
  
wouldn't let me go until all of us had had lunch..." Mulder   
  
said, trying to excuse himself, thinking he was late.  
  
"Never mind. I only got here a couple of minutes ago myself.   
  
I was getting information on two cases in which we could use   
  
your knowledge on so-called *paranormal* phenomena. Here you   
  
are," Doggett said, stretching out his arm to hand the   
  
folders over to Mulder.  
  
"Hello, Mulder!" Monica Reyes cried, greeting Mulder from   
  
behind. Although she had just entered and was saying hello to   
  
Mulder, her eyes were fixed on John Doggett.  
  
Mulder turned around and greeted her politely. Reyes walked   
  
towards Doggett and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"Hi, John."  
  
"Hello. How's everything?" he answered back, knitting his   
  
brow. "I hope that A.D. Follmer invited you to lunch at a   
  
good restaurant," he added sarcastically.  
  
"Ha, ha! We'll talk about it later, *Doggie*," Monica told   
  
him, staring at Doggett with a killer glance. She then stood   
  
beside Mulder. "What's this?" she asked, looking at the   
  
folders the External Adviser had in his hands.  
  
"They're files on two cases that I just received. I want you   
  
to work on them, Monica, with Mulder acting as your advisor.   
  
The first one concerns the disappearance of a group of   
  
teenagers. All of them were 16 years old, all of them male,   
  
and it seems like all of them took part in some sort of   
  
satanic cult," Doggett commented. "There were seven of them   
  
and they disappeared at the same time on the same night.   
  
There are no witnesses, but their parents believe that the   
  
boys were kidnapped by a evil being or spirit," he added,   
  
taking a short pause.  
  
"The second one deals with several alleged UFO sightings,   
  
related to fires in wheat fields and fires causing damage to   
  
other cereal crops. Both cases stem from South Dakota, near   
  
Mount Rushmore," the agent concluded, trying to sound   
  
convincing.  
  
"That's interesting... I haven't visited the Presidents'   
  
monument for a long time," Mulder mumbled.  
  
"John, why don't you come to South Dakota with us?" Reyes   
  
asked.  
  
"As I've said, the events are directly related to UFOs and an   
  
alleged satanic cult. I think that both cases are aimed at   
  
open-minded people, like you and Mulder, not me. I'm not   
  
*useful* in those cases. I would rather stay here with Scully   
  
- for security reasons," Doggett explained. It was part of   
  
the reason why he wished to stay, but it wasn't completely   
  
true. The protection staff looked after Scully all day.  
  
"Good point, *Doggie*! It's not a good idea for Scully to be   
  
alone right now. I don't trust her body guards at all,"   
  
Mulder admitted. "Reyes, what if we were to leave   
  
tonight...?" he asked, heading for the door.  
  
"No problem, Mulder," Monica answered, smiling a little.  
  
"Are you going?" Doggett inquired, watching Mulder walk away.  
  
"Yeah, I'm going but, believe me, it's not going to be easy   
  
to convince Grandma and Ma Scully that I need to travel all   
  
the way to South Dakota..." Mulder said, closing the door   
  
without saying good-bye.  
  
Now that they were alone, Monica was determined to find out   
  
what Doggett was concealing from her.  
  
"For the last time, John... what the heck is it?" Reyes said,   
  
her voice raised. Doggett stared at her, assuming a defensive   
  
attitude. "Yesterday, you disappeared from the Earth's   
  
surface for almost the whole day to investigate who knows   
  
what, then, at night, you appeared from the fog with nothing   
  
in your hands. This morning you left me at home, wrapped in a   
  
towel and scrambling for clues. I had to have lunch alone.   
  
And now you have two folders packed with information on two   
  
cases that look like they were pulled from a magician's   
  
hat... I have a hunch - whether you're willing to work with   
  
me or..."  
  
"OK, OK, Monica!" Doggett sighed. "I had promised myself that   
  
I wouldn't say a word to anyone, but..." he lowered his   
  
voice. "Er... Mon, the reason why I've been so secretive is   
  
because this is about something important that affects both   
  
of us. In addition to staying here to protect Scully, I've   
  
got to be in Washington to meet someone who has information   
  
about Luke's disappearance, and the possibility that we've   
  
been deceived, and he's alive..."  
  
"My God!" Reyes gasped. She could barely speak.  
  
"As I'm still not sure if this story's fake, I didn't want to   
  
tell you anything about it because I didn't want to give you   
  
false hope about something that could turn into   
  
disappointment for us..."  
  
It was true - partially true because one thing did not have   
  
to do with the other. Nevertheless, Monica felt guilty for   
  
having distrusted - unfairly, she thought - Doggett.  
  
"Forgive me, John," she apologized, placing her forehead on   
  
his and gently caressing his cheeks. "All of your mysterious   
  
actions made me think that it was about... I don't know..."  
  
"Another woman...?"  
  
"Yes... Although it's embarrassing for me to admit it," Reyes   
  
said, blushing. "But tell me, what else thing could I imagine   
  
if you, along with Mulder, are one of the most well known   
  
Casanovas in FBI history?"  
  
"Please, Monica. Don't exaggerate. I don't say a single word   
  
when you smile at Assistant Director Follmer..."  
  
Touché.  
  
Reyes kept quiet for a few seconds. Doggett had attacked her   
  
weakest spot. Her affair with A.D. Follmer was as heavy a   
  
burden as a wooden cross. Still blushing, she sighed deeply   
  
and made ready to counter-attack her partner.  
  
"That hurt me. It had nothing to do with my question... And   
  
regarding your reputation, I'm not exaggerating at all. When   
  
I was at Quantico Academy, I heard stories from several   
  
female cadets about a certain Agent *Spooky* Mulder from the   
  
Washington office. Then, later, I heard about a certain Agent   
  
*Doggie* Doggett, who was devastating to all the skirts in   
  
the Bureau..."  
  
"Oh, Monica! What am I going to do with you?" Doggett   
  
exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'm 41. I'm not a teenaged boy   
  
or a lady-killer."  
  
"Maybe you're 41, but your 41 years weren't a handicap at all   
  
last night, were they?" she joked, kissing him warmly. "I   
  
must go pack my bags."  
  
"Watch out for *Spooky*. He's also a Casanova!"  
  
"Don't worry, *Doggie*. I know how to take care of myself.   
  
Please promise that you'll call me as soon as you find out   
  
about anything about... What you're trying to find out."  
  
"I will. I promise."  
  
-------------------------------  
  
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT  
  
2:45 P.M.  
  
Mulder went back to Scully's home and told her and Maggie   
  
about the cases he and Agent Reyes would be investigating.   
  
The External Adviser was not pleased about the idea of being   
  
away from Scully, but he believed that there wouldn't be any   
  
danger if Doggett was still in the city.  
  
"Maggie, Dana... do you have any message for George   
  
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln or Teddy   
  
Roosevelt?" Mulder asked as he opened the door.  
  
"Hello, Fox, you came back quickly," Maggie Scully said,   
  
seeing Mulder in shirtsleeves and taking in the folders under   
  
his right arm.  
  
"That's right, Mulder. You weren't gone very long. What do   
  
you mean about giving a message to all those Presidents?"   
  
Scully asked Mulder, cradling little William, who slept   
  
wrapped in a blanket.  
  
"It turns out that Doggett has found a pair of cases that   
  
exhibit weird phenomena and demand the experienced Spooky's   
  
mind and Agent Reyes' keen extra sensory perception."  
  
Scully knitted her eyebrows as if to say "So what?"  
  
"One of them deals with disappearances that are supposedly   
  
related to a satanic cult, and the other one has to do with   
  
alleged UFOs that have ruined several farmers' fields in   
  
South Dakota," Mulder explained. "Tonight, I have to travel   
  
to South Dakota with Reyes, more specifically to Rapid City,   
  
where we'll investigate the disappearances. The UFO case is   
  
in Keystone, near Mount Rushmore."  
  
"You'll never change, Fox. Not even now when you're out of   
  
the FBI and the X-Files. You go on being obsessed with your   
  
job," Maggie said.  
  
"Let him be obsessed, Mom. If the aliens weren't able to   
  
change his mind, neither will we." Scully stated, trying to   
  
defend Mulder.  
  
"You heard your daughter, Mrs. Scully. I am a lost cause,"   
  
Mulder pointed out, hitting his head playfully with the   
  
folders.  
  
"We knew that a long time ago..." Maggie said.  
  
"Isn't Doggett going?" Scully questioned.  
  
"No. He'll stay here in Washington with you, for security   
  
reasons. It's too dangerous for you to be alone," Mulder   
  
declared, gesturing to Scully to give him the baby.  
  
"It isn't good that you'll be away from me, from me and Will.   
  
I don't want you to go there if UFOs are flying around," she   
  
said, sounding alarmed as gave William to him, trying to not   
  
wake the boy.  
  
"Don't worry. I promise that I'll never be closer than 500   
  
meters to a UFO," Mulder swore. "Hey, you're not thinking the   
  
wrong thing about me and Monica, are you?"  
  
"Now that you mention it, don't even try to be a *Don Juan*   
  
with her. Poor you if I know anything about you and Reyes.   
  
Poor you if John Doggett finds out anything. Special Agent   
  
Monica Reyes is forbidden. She's untouchable... do you   
  
understand, Fox William Mulder?" Scully warned Mulder,   
  
folding her arms.  
  
"Gee, Dana! What will your mother say?" Mulder said, giving   
  
his son back to Scully. Look, I swear I won't even imagine   
  
Agent Reyes naked. Boy Scout's honor."  
  
"You pervert. Besides, as far as I know, you were never a Boy   
  
Scout, Mulder," Scully berated him.  
  
"No, but I know how to pitch a tent and light a fire."  
  
"It doesn't matter. I believe you anyway."  
  
Mulder, Scully and Maggie were together for the rest of the   
  
afternoon, until about five. Then, Mulder put three or four   
  
suits into his suitcase, fed his fish - that now lived with   
  
him at Scully's apartment - and phoned Monica Reyes to make   
  
sure that she was ready. As she said that her bags were   
  
already packed, the former agent said goodbye to his three   
  
loved ones and went over to Monica's place, which was located   
  
in an elegant neighborhood on Bennet Avenue in Annandale.   
  
Shortly after, the External Adviser, Mulder, and Special   
  
Agent Reyes headed for Dulles Airport.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
RAPID CITY,  
  
SOUTH DAKOTA  
  
10:48 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)  
  
After a very long and exhausting trip that took more than   
  
five hours, including a stopover at Chicago airport, Mulder   
  
and Reyes arrived in Rapid City on board a little plane that   
  
landed in the local airfield. In addition to the details of   
  
the false cases, the Agent and the External Adviser talked   
  
about several trivial subjects, such as nursing little   
  
William and the love affairs of Mulder in Washington and   
  
Doggett in New York. They did not talk about those issues in   
  
depth, as they both were very tired due to the trip and the   
  
discomfort of the plane, a small single-engine airplane for   
  
15 passengers. Mulder, moreover, did not like to refer to his   
  
private life.  
  
By the time they arrived at their destination, the rental car   
  
agency was closed, and they had to take a taxi to a cheap   
  
motel that was as uncomfortable as the plane in which they   
  
had travelled to South Dakota. After checking in, they both   
  
said good night to each other and went to their respective   
  
rooms. Then, as if by a previous agreement, Mulder called   
  
Scully and Monica called Doggett.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
7:49 A.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)  
  
Mulder and Reyes woke up early in spite of their tiredness   
  
after last night's trip. Both agreed that they would first   
  
investigate the case of the disappearances in Rapid City,   
  
making contact with the local authorities. Then they would   
  
communicate with the investigators in Keystone in order to   
  
save time before they went there. While they were having   
  
breakfast, Monica read aloud the statement of one missing   
  
boy's father:  
  
"'Tim and his friends were involved in something strange, a   
  
long time ago. Mrs. Daniels, Bobby's mother, phoned me   
  
several times to tell me that her son was behaving weirdly,   
  
and that she had broken into her son's bedroom and had found   
  
a notebook filled with unknown signs drawn on the paper. The   
  
handwriting of the symbols - in red - was not Bobby's, and it   
  
seemed like it was written by scratching the paper...'"  
  
"Listen..." Mulder said, reading the statement from the   
  
mother of another boy. "'Before going out, Jack told me that   
  
he was going to meet Bobby, Tim, Matthew and other friends of   
  
theirs to go camping. It sounded fishy to me because I   
  
realized that he didn't have adequate clothes for cold   
  
weather and he didn't even take a bag to carry all the   
  
necessary gear for camping. What's more, the most strange   
  
thing was that he didn't wear his jacket, and so I could see   
  
a tattoo on his arm because of his t-shirt.'" the External   
  
Adviser quoted.  
  
"Mrs. McLeod was asked to remember what she saw on her son's   
  
arm, and this is what she drew," Mulder concluded, showing   
  
Reyes a piece of paper with a drawing on it.  
  
"That's the same symbol seen in this photograph from the   
  
notebook that Mary Daniels found in Bobby's bedroom, and it   
  
is identical to this other one from the mirror of Tim   
  
Reynolds' bathroom..." Monica added, after comparing the   
  
three images. "And Matthew Johnson, Sr. says that his son   
  
Matthew Johnson, Jr. had the same symbol painted on a black   
  
shirt that he never took off and didn't allow anyone to   
  
touch. We have no evidence of the existence of that shirt but   
  
the word of Mr. Johnson."  
  
The drawing looked like a black goat's head with horns and   
  
red eyes. The whole image was surrounded by a red circle with   
  
a black edge. The picture looked similar to one that Mulder   
  
had seen in a high school where people had displayed weird   
  
behaviour due to an alleged planet alignment. The symbol had   
  
a well-known meaning for Reyes from her experience on satanic   
  
sects. All the graphic elements were traditionally linked to   
  
secret cults in honor of the Devil and evil beings.  
  
"What do you think, Reyes?" Mulder asked Monica.  
  
"From what we've seen, it's evident that those four teenagers   
  
disappeared for the same reason, whatever it is, and that   
  
reason is directly related to a hobby or a shared activity.   
  
It could be a secret cult, a gang, or simply coincidence, at   
  
best." Reyes speculated, her theory based on the information   
  
they had so far.  
  
"We must talk to the parents of the other teenagers: Stuart   
  
Nicholls, Mark Hill and Antony Taylor. Before we travelled   
  
here, I called Sheriff Delani of the Rapid City Police. He   
  
has the addresses for them, and he's going to help us in the   
  
investigation. We have an appointment with him at 9:30,"   
  
Mulder pointed out.  
  
"As you wish, External Adviser Fox Mulder," Monica joked,   
  
placing her hand against her right temple in a salute, like a   
  
soldier receiving an order from a superior officer.  
  
"This isn't an order at all, Monica. I simply like to be   
  
ahead of the game," Mulder said, trying to soften his words.  
  
"I think that's what Dana was referring to when she said that   
  
she regarded you as an authority figure..." Reyes said,   
  
allowing a brief pause. "Not in the way that you believe.   
  
You're neither a tyrant nor a bossy partner, but someone who   
  
is very enthusiastic and has a great sense of leadership.   
  
Without your energy, the X-Files Section would never be what   
  
it is today," she added, clarifying her ideas to Mulder.  
  
"Reyes, you're going to make me blush with such compliments,"   
  
Mulder told her, smiling. "And to be fair, I must say that   
  
Scully has also talked about you in flattering terms. In her   
  
own words, you have become a great friend in such a short   
  
time, and it's something remarkable because Scu... I mean,   
  
Dana, doesn't have a lot of friends..."  
  
"Wow, the Flattering 'Spooky' Mulder in action!" Monica   
  
exclaimed in amusement.  
  
"We'd better finish our breakfast. Don't forget that we have   
  
an appointment with Delani."  
  
"Yes, Sir!"  
  
----------------------------------  
  
POLICE HEADQUARTERS  
  
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA  
  
11:37 A.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)  
  
After meeting with Sheriff Delani and talking to the parents   
  
of the other missing boys, Mulder and Reyes went back to   
  
Police Headquarters and met with Delani again in order to   
  
discuss their new findings. Mark Hill's mother had shown them   
  
a drawing that her son had made on his bedroom ceiling, just   
  
above his bed. The drawing was identical to the other ones.   
  
Stuart Nicholls' father, a Lutheran minister, could not speak   
  
to them because he had been taken to the local hospital after   
  
experiencing heart attack symptoms. And Antony Taylor's aunt   
  
refused to even open the door, throwing them a key ring with   
  
same enigmatic image.  
  
"Those good-for-nothing boys were always sticking their noses   
  
into other people's business! Sheriff Delani complained   
  
angrily. "They usually got involved in a lot of trouble."  
  
"Mr. Delani, according to their parents and relatives, all of   
  
them had clothing in their wardrobe or places in their   
  
bedrooms with this symbol. Have you ever seen it before?"   
  
Agent Reyes asked the sheriff as she showed him the pictures.   
  
"Does the symbol have any meaning for you?"  
  
"If had seen it before, I'm sure I would have remembered it.   
  
No, it doesn't look like anything I've ever seen..." Delani   
  
said, emphasizing his negative response by shaking his head.  
  
"You said that they got involved in trouble frequently. What   
  
kind of 'trouble' have they gotten involved in previously?"   
  
Adviser Mulder questioned.  
  
"Several times, I had to reprimand them for damaging private   
  
property or for causing disturbances on the streets...   
  
Anyway, they haven't committed any serious crimes and, as   
  
they're under 18, they do what they want because I can't put   
  
them in jail," the sheriff said.  
  
"But they haven't been connected to any murders, robberies or   
  
anything like that, have they?" Monica asked.  
  
"No, they have not. Although they have done things outside   
  
the law, they are not criminals," Sheriff Delani explained.  
  
"Now they have disappeared, and, according to the evidence,   
  
the only thing we can do is go to the forest where Mrs.   
  
Daniels said that Jack and his friends were going to go   
  
camping," Fox Mulder suggested.  
  
"We've already gone there, and we didn't find anything, Mr.   
  
Mulder," Delani replied.  
  
"Believe me, Sheriff Delani, sometimes there are things in   
  
the forest that you can't see even when they're right in   
  
front of your eyes. I know of what I speak," Mulder stated,   
  
remembering his own disappearance in the middle of a forest   
  
in Oregon.  
  
Reyes didn't say a word and followed Mulder to the door.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
10th STREET AND 13th STREET INTERSECTION  
  
WASHINGTON D.C.  
  
2:05 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
Doggett offered to accompany Scully and Maggie to William's   
  
medical appointment that day. It was the perfect situation in   
  
which to carry out the deal with the Consortium, in exchange   
  
for knowledge of Luke's whereabouts. Although Doggett was   
  
reluctant to accept, he was forced to because they had   
  
threatened to kill both Monica and Luke. Doggett had   
  
unwillingly made the agreement with the conspirators to set   
  
up a trap to get Scully's baby during their trip to the   
  
medical center. Luckily, for the kidnappers, Scully's   
  
vehicle, and the one belonging to their security escort, was   
  
trapped in a traffic jam. The traffic jam was near the   
  
planned spot for the kidnapping.  
  
"We're going to be late," Scully said, looking at her watch   
  
and then the long line of vehicles ahead of them.  
  
"We *are* late, Scully. It's five after two, and we're going   
  
to be here for a long time," Doggett replied, correcting the   
  
redhead.  
  
"You should call the doctor and let him know that we've been   
  
delayed," Maggie proposed from the backseat, cradling her   
  
grandson.  
  
"Let's take a short cut," Doggett decided, putting the car in   
  
reverse then heading for the street that would lead directly   
  
to the place where the trap had been set.  
  
John Doggett drove Scully's car onto a lonely one-way street.   
  
The escorts' van was still some distance behind them.   
  
Suddenly, a gasoline truck, driven by one of the   
  
conspirators, drove in front of the van. The security escorts   
  
didn't have time to react. They were shot by several snipers   
  
posted in the windows and terraced roofs that surrounded the   
  
place. Fifty meters ahead, Scully and Maggie turned around,   
  
scared by the shots they had heard. They did not have enough   
  
time to do anything because another van appeared from an   
  
alley and moved in front of their car, blocking the way.  
  
Doggett braked roughly and wielded his gun. Four strongly-  
  
armed men in balaclavas got out of the van. One of them shot   
  
Agent Doggett, who fell down beside the left door of the car,   
  
apparently dead. The other three men went to Scully and   
  
Maggie, aiming at them with their weapons.  
  
"Get out of the car, grandma!" a man shouted, threatening   
  
Maggie, whose trembling arms held little William. "Give me   
  
that baby!"  
  
"Nooooo! Not him! Don't take him!" Scully pleaded   
  
hysterically, about to cry.  
  
"You're coming with us. Come on!" another man yelled, pulling   
  
Scully from the passenger seat at the front of the car.  
  
A third man took William as two others pulled Scully to the   
  
back of the van, where two other men were waiting for the   
  
hostages. As she was pulled into the darkness of the vehicle,   
  
Scully stuck her head out of the van and shouted in despair:  
  
"Moooooom!"  
  
"Danaaaaaaa!"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
Please send comments to: rafaelzeap@terra.com.co and   
  
missy_kath@hotmail.com 


	2. Chess Game 2

TITLE: Chess Game II: The Queen   
  
ORIGINAL TITLE IN SPANISH: Tablero de Ajedrez. La Dama   
  
AUTHORS: Rafael Zea (rafaelzeap@terra.com.co) and Missy K   
  
(missy_kath@hotmail.com)   
  
DISCLAIMER: The characters from The X-Files used in this   
  
story belong to Chris Carter, 20th Century Fox and 1013   
  
Productions. It is not our intention to infringe the   
  
copyright laws.   
  
CLASSIFICATION: WIP (2/3); X-File, with a subtle touch of MSR   
  
and DRR. RATING: PG-13   
  
SPOILERS: This story takes place after "Existence". There are   
  
some references to "Syzygy," "Invocation," "Dead Alive," and   
  
"Empedocles". "Jump the Shark", "William", and "Release"   
  
never happened.   
  
SUMMARY: The Queen is in danger. Will the other pieces of the   
  
game be saved...?   
  
Author's Note: This tale was first published in September   
  
2001 and is available at   
  
http://www.silverbug-x-files.com/relato971.htm   
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"Moooooom!"   
  
"Danaaaaaaa!"   
  
The van went away, taking Scully and little William. Maggie   
  
kept motionless for a few seconds, then she ran towards   
  
Doggett, who was lying outside the left door of Scully's car.   
  
The mother of the kidnapped agent could see at least two   
  
bullet wounds in Doggett's body, which were bleeding badly.   
  
One wound was on the upper left side of his chest, and the   
  
other was on his left forearm. She noticed that John Doggett   
  
was barely breathing. Maggie looked for the agent's cell   
  
phone and dialed 911 for help.   
  
-------------------------------------  
  
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL   
  
MARYLAND   
  
4:10 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)   
  
Doggett was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital from   
  
the crime scene. Although he had been seriously wounded and   
  
had lost a lot of blood, the emergency doctors could   
  
stabilize his condition. After more than an hour in surgery,   
  
the doctors announced that the agent was out of danger. The   
  
shot in his forearm had made him release his gun but had not   
  
damaged any bones. The other shot went through his chest   
  
between his collarbone and his left lung, but did not   
  
seriously harm any tissue either. In the surgeons' own words,   
  
they were "clean wounds". But there was also a third wound,   
  
caused by a bullet that had skimmed his left temple. It could   
  
have been a lethal shot if the shooters hadn't missed by   
  
millimeters. Doggett could have been killed.   
  
While Maggie was giving her statement of the events to the   
  
Police, Doggett woke up, confused, not only due to the normal   
  
effects of the anaesthesia, but also because he remembered   
  
what had happened and immediately thought that he had been a   
  
victim of deception and had just been used to steal Scully's   
  
son. His suspicions were confirmed when he opened his eyes.   
  
"Mr. Doggett, I see that you are recovering from critical   
  
condition," a man in a black suit said. He was the same man   
  
Doggett had talked to at the Lincoln Memorial, 24 hours   
  
before.   
  
"Let me guess. You're going to finish *the job* that your   
  
partners couldn't finish two hours ago," John Doggett   
  
answered, his voice barely audible. "Shoot me now!" he added,   
  
breathing deeply.   
  
"You are wrong, Agent Doggett. You have fulfilled your part   
  
of the deal and now it's time for us to do the same. That is   
  
why I'm here," the Black-Suit Man asserted.   
  
"Why did your men shoot me?" Doggett asked, trying to sit up   
  
without being able to do so.   
  
"We needed the *attack* to look as convincing as possible. We   
  
didn't want to make you look like a traitor before Agent   
  
Scully and her mother. That's why our men didn't shoot to   
  
kill you. If we had wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be here   
  
talking to you, would I?" the mysterious man pointed out.   
  
"So get to the point. Tell me where my son is!" Doggett   
  
demanded.   
  
The Black-Suit Man quietly pulled an envelope out of his   
  
pocket and gave it to Doggett, smiling.   
  
"This is the location of the orphanage where Luke Doggett is.   
  
He has been checked in under the false name of 'Luther Coy   
  
Doherty'. He is close to finishing his elementary studies and   
  
he is one of the most intelligent students in his class," the   
  
Black-Suit Man commented.   
  
Doggett opened the envelope. Inside, in addition to the   
  
address of the orphanage in Fulton, a small town in New York   
  
State, there was Luke's report card, full of excellent marks,   
  
and a photograph of Luke, taken at a play. The kid was   
  
dressed up as a US Marine, and the military shield from   
  
Lebanon that Doggett had given to him on his last birthday   
  
was on his small uniform. It was the same shield that the   
  
Black-Suit Man had given to Doggett as proof of Luke's   
  
existence the day before.   
  
"You will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, and you   
  
will be able to travel and find Luke. Mulder and Reyes will   
  
stay in South Dakota for days before realizing that they are   
  
wasting their time there. By then, Scully will have already   
  
been released. You do realize that in this deal there are no   
  
losers, only winners?" the Black-Suit Man said.   
  
"And what are we going to say to Mulder when Maggie Scully   
  
calls to tell him that her daughter and grandson have been   
  
kidnapped?" John Doggett inquired.   
  
"That's been taken care of. Agent Reyes and External Adviser   
  
Mulder haven't realized yet that they have no way to   
  
communicate with anyone outside of South Dakota. There isn't   
  
a phone in that state that works. The cell phone antennas   
  
have been sabotaged. There aren't even any Internet   
  
connections. They're isolated from the rest of the world, and   
  
Mulder and Reyes will believe that this is because of the   
  
UFOs that are supposedly in Keystone. However, we know that   
  
Mulder is a distrustful man. If he and Agent Reyes try to   
  
come back before the planned date, we'll have a surprise for   
  
them on their way home..."   
  
Doggett pressed his lips together and kept quiet. The Black-  
  
Suit Man left the room.   
  
--------------------------------  
  
UNKNOWN LOCATION   
  
5:20 P.M.   
  
The kidnappers had taken Scully and her baby to a huge   
  
building converted by the Consortium into a genetic   
  
laboratory in which the scientists of that sinister society   
  
worked day and night to develop an organism that was   
  
physically invulnerable to both human illnesses and gunshot   
  
wounds. Up till then, the most advanced experiment was the   
  
one that had resulted in William's conception, which was, on   
  
the one hand, the consequence of a medical treatment to re-  
  
fertilize Scully (that had apparently been a failure) and, on   
  
the other hand, the result of a natural physical relationship   
  
between her and Mulder. Mulder had genetic material in his   
  
DNA from the alien race that had almost killed him at first,   
  
but then helped in his miraculous recovery after he was found   
  
and pronounced dead. The kidnapped agent and her son were   
  
locked up in a room, which, contrary to expectations, was   
  
very comfortable. It had heating and the furniture was   
  
similar to any normal bedroom: a bed, a cradle for the baby,   
  
and a private bathroom. The difference was that a hidden   
  
closed-circuit camera watched over every movement inside the   
  
room.   
  
"Oh, look who's here!" Diana Fowley exclaimed, as she opened   
  
the door and walked into the room. The door only could be   
  
opened from the outside.   
  
"Youuuuu?!" Scully asked in disbelief, holding her baby   
  
tightly in her arms.   
  
"I am alive, whether you like like it or not. I have come   
  
back to make sure that you suffer everything I had to deal   
  
with after helping you rescue Mulder..." Fowley declared.   
  
"What they did to you isn't my fault. Besides, we all thought   
  
that you were dead," Scully said, trying to defend herself   
  
without letting go of her son.   
  
"Sometimes, innocent people have to be blamed instead of   
  
guilty people..." Diana challenged Scully.   
  
"Let me tell you something. I'm not afraid of you," Scully   
  
replied, after placing William in his cradle. She stood in   
  
front of her well-known rival. Her blue eyes sparked in   
  
anger.   
  
"Listen to me, you tiny redhead!" Diana Fowley bellowed, and   
  
she grabbed Scully's shoulders, lifting her as if she was a   
  
feather, owing to her amazing strength, unusual for a woman.   
  
"I won't allow you and Mulder to laugh at me again!" she   
  
added.   
  
Scully struggled between Diana Fowley's arms, impressed by   
  
the fact that such a skinny and apparently weak woman could   
  
have so much strength.   
  
"Let her go!" Marita Covarrubias shouted from the door as she   
  
saw Fowley attacking Scully.   
  
Diana gave an incomprehensible howl. Her eyes became confused   
  
and she looked like she had gone back to the wild condition   
  
she had been in at the psychiatric hospital where she had   
  
been locked away. Then, Diana threw Scully away. The agent   
  
fell on the bed, which broke into pieces by the impact. The   
  
noise caused by the bed breaking woke up William, who burst   
  
into frightened tears. Immediately, three men showed up,   
  
trying to immobilize Diana, but the strength of that mad   
  
woman was superior to theirs. Seeing this, Marita pulled out   
  
a syringe filled with the same drug she had used at the   
  
insane asylum, and injected Diana in the arm. Fowley started   
  
to relax, and the three men were able to take her out of the   
  
room.   
  
"Are you OK, Agent Scully?" Marita inquired of Scully.   
  
"Since I'm here I'm not fine..." Scully answered as she stood   
  
up with difficulty and went over to William to calm him down.   
  
"I will make sure that you have a new bed and things like   
  
that do not happen again..." Covarrubias said in apology and   
  
she closed the door before Scully was able to say any other   
  
word.   
  
---------------------------------  
  
RURAL AREA   
  
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA   
  
7:06 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)   
  
"Damn it, Doggie, answer!" Reyes grumbled to her cellphone.   
  
"What's wrong, Monica?" Mulder asked, as he saw the dark look   
  
on Reyes' face.   
  
"I can't get through to John. This is the eighth time that   
  
I've dialed his home phone number and his cell number and I   
  
always get the same message: 'Sorry, we are having technical   
  
difficulties. Please try again later...'" Monica Reyes said,   
  
imitating the voice that she had heard on her phone.   
  
"Let's try my phone," Mulder suggested.   
  
After a long moment of silence, External Adviser Fox Mulder's   
  
face shared the same expression as his intrepid colleague.   
  
"It's weird! My cellphone company is not working either.   
  
Maybe we're out of range or..."   
  
"...Or maybe it's interference caused by the UFOs that have   
  
been seen near Keystone... We are not far from the area,"   
  
Reyes hinted, joking more than making a solid assertion.   
  
"Hmmm, I don't know." Mulder hesitated. "We should try to get   
  
through to Doggett and Scully by using the police radio and-"   
  
"Agent Reyes, Mr. Mulder, come with me," Deputy Peters said,   
  
suddenly appearing and interrupting the conversation.   
  
"Sheriff Delani has found something..." Peters explained.   
  
Mulder and Reyes went with Deputy Peters through the forest,   
  
where Sheriff Delani was waiting for them in the company of   
  
some other police officers. Monica and the ex-agent realized   
  
that the policemen were surrounding a huge circle that had   
  
been spray painted on the ground. It was the same image that   
  
they had seen on the belongings and in the homes of the   
  
missing teenagers.   
  
"Is there any clue on the boys?" Mulder asked immediately.   
  
"I don't know whether this can be regarded as a 'clue' or   
  
not, but we found it here, among the ashes of a fire that was   
  
still warm," Peters answered as he gave them a folded piece   
  
of paper.   
  
Reyes took the paper and unfolded it.   
  
"'See you in hell, fools!'" Monica read aloud. "Look at it,   
  
Mulder. This handwriting is similar to the handwriting Bobby   
  
Daniels' mother showed us."   
  
"We also found this burned piece of plastic. It seems to be   
  
part of a tent. There's something strange here because that   
  
night we walked all over the forest and didn't see anything.   
  
It's like those boys were playing hide-and-seek with us,"   
  
Sheriff Delani added.   
  
"What do you think, External Adviser Mulder?" Monica Reyes   
  
inquired in curiosity.   
  
"I'm guessing that the elections' fraud in Florida instigated   
  
by the Bush brothers to steal the US presidency from Al Gore   
  
was more mysterious than the disappearance of these   
  
teenagers. As far as I'm concerned, these kids are only   
  
making fun of us. I think they came up with this idea to get   
  
away from their parents and make it look like a kidnapping or   
  
an alien abduction, so they couldn't be traced." Fox Mulder   
  
conjectured.   
  
"What?" said one of the police officers. Peters didn't say a   
  
word.   
  
"When we went to see the parents of the boys who disappeared,   
  
I realized that in every house there was some valuable object   
  
missing, which, I think, the boys probably sold to raise   
  
money for their journey to wherever they went..." Mulder   
  
continued.   
  
"Now that you mention it, I found it strange that in several   
  
houses there were empty places on the walls, as if a clock or   
  
a painting was missing. It was a detail that nobody would   
  
take into account except by staring at the walls. I also   
  
thought of it, but I assumed it was irrelevant. It's evident   
  
that there is a connection to these events," Monica said,   
  
ashamed but admitting that the External Adviser was right.   
  
"Sheriff Delani, I suggest that you suspend this case. These   
  
boys will come back as soon as they run out of money and miss   
  
mom and dad. They will come back sooner or later..." Mulder   
  
pointed out. "Let's go out of here, Reyes. Keystone is   
  
waiting for us!"   
  
Mulder and Reyes walked away from the sheriff and the police   
  
officers.   
  
"Attention central headquarters and all units... the search   
  
is cancelled. Again, the search operation is cancelled!"   
  
Delani said, speaking into his portable radio set. "Hey!   
  
Damn, the radio isn't working!"   
  
---------------------------------  
  
STATE ROAD 385, ON THE RAPID CITY-KEYSTONE HIGHWAY   
  
SOUTH DAKOTA 8:20 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)   
  
Mulder and Reyes were not around to listen to Sheriff Delani   
  
complain about his radio set, so they went to the motel to   
  
check out, get their luggage and travel to Keystone. At the   
  
motel, they tried to get through to Doggett, Scully and   
  
Skinner in Washington, but the motel phones didn't work   
  
either. Both Mulder and Reyes had a hunch that something   
  
horrible had occurred in D.C., but, at the moment, there   
  
weren't any connecting flights from Chicago to the capital   
  
available. They decided to go to Keystone by car, hoping to   
  
have more luck with telecommunications there.   
  
"Mulder, I'm worried. Since we've left Washington, we haven't   
  
heard anything from John and Dana," Monica said in   
  
frustration.   
  
"I'm afraid we've been deceived. The Rapid City case was an   
  
investigation that could have easily been assigned to the FBI   
  
office in Dakota. I don't see why the hell Doggett thought   
  
we'd be the agents needed for that case..." Mulder said as he   
  
glanced at an imaginary point on the road.   
  
"You must understand that John was a policeman before   
  
becoming an FBI agent. It's difficult for him to analyze any   
  
fact that doesn't fit with traditional police research   
  
patterns. In spite of my efforts, I still haven't been able   
  
to broaden his perspective. Based on the facts, I guess he   
  
thought that you and I were the right people for these cases,   
  
considering our experience with paranormal phenomena."   
  
"You're right. The basic information led us to believe that   
  
the Rapid City case was a genuine X-File, as this case on   
  
UFOs seems to be. I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a   
  
*Y-File*. Hey! What are you doing?" Mulder shouted.   
  
"I'm sorry... I haven't won my last battle against the   
  
nicotine," Reyes said in apology as she put her lighter back   
  
inside her pocket and threw a cigarette out the car window.   
  
"Give me that pack, Special Agent Reyes," Mulder said.   
  
"Is it an order, *External Adviser Mulder*?" Monica inquired,   
  
laughing.   
  
"Think about it this way: either you give me that pack of   
  
Morley's or you arrive in Keystone on foot..." Mulder   
  
threatened. Then his expression softened. "I'm just kidding,   
  
Monica... Come on, give me that pack," the ex-agent said   
  
gently.   
  
"OK, Mulder, you win. Take it as a proof of my strong will to   
  
quit smoking," Reyes said, finally surrendering to the   
  
External Adviser's demands and giving him the pack. "Oh, and   
  
take this too just in case," She added, handing him the   
  
lighter as well. Then, she opened a pack of Niclets   
  
nervously, chewing a piece before Mulder's eyes.   
  
--------------------------------  
  
FORENSIC SCIENCE INSTITUTE   
  
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK 9:56 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)   
  
Doggett left Bethesda Naval Hospital without authorization,   
  
dressed up as a doctor so that nobody would notice who he   
  
was. The agent had his left arm in a sling and he took a taxi   
  
home. Once there, he changed his clothes and went to Dulles   
  
Airport. On his way to the airport, John Doggett phoned a   
  
friend from the Long Island Police Force and had him apply   
  
for an exhumation warrant of Luke's body, which was buried in   
  
a local cemetery there. Doggett wasn't about to give up, even   
  
though he remembered every word he had said to Maggie Scully,   
  
a few minutes before leaving the hospital:   
  
*************************************************************   
  
"Please find my daughter and my grandson, Agent Doggett,"   
  
Margaret Scully begged, tears in her eyes. "Mul... Fox has   
  
disappeared. I haven't been able to get through to him and I   
  
don't know who to turn to... I must travel to San Diego   
  
immediately. My son Bill has been sent on a mission on the   
  
Atlantic Ocean, and my daughter-in-law is sick, as well as   
  
her son. I can't stay here..."   
  
"Mrs. Scully, I promise that all of us at the FBI will do our   
  
best to find Dana and William. We'll try to get through to   
  
Mulder and Monica... I'll keep you informed..." Doggett   
  
asserted with a lump in his throat.   
  
"Thanks, Mr. Doggett. God bless you..." Maggie whispered   
  
before going out of the room.  
  
*************************************************************   
  
Absent-minded in his thoughts, Doggett almost completely lost   
  
track of time and, as he arrived at his destination, the   
  
Peacefield Cemetery employees were already digging up the   
  
white casket of Doggett's son. The coffin was immediately   
  
taken to the forensic institute in which DNA test would be   
  
run on the remains of the body in order to find out whether   
  
the dead boy was Luke or not. When Luke had been murdered,   
  
neither John nor Monica had allowed any DNA test to be   
  
carried out because both of them had seen the corpse and were   
  
absolutely sure that the kid was Luke John Doggett. However,   
  
the things that the Black-Suit Man had shown Agent Doggett   
  
seemed to deny this fact, and that was why Doggett wanted to   
  
put an end to his doubts...   
  
"Is this test 100% reliable?" Doggett asked a forensic   
  
doctor, feeling an acute pain in his right arm from the   
  
needle used to obtain a blood sample.   
  
"There nothing that's 100% reliable, Agent Doggett. But I   
  
think that in cases like this one, the accuracy level is   
  
extremely high. If the bones of the boy have the same genetic   
  
features found in your blood sample, then, undoubtedly, you   
  
two were relatives," the doctor pointed out.   
  
"Understand me, Doc... with all due respect, we aren't   
  
speculating on whether Anna Anderson was Princess Anastasia   
  
Romanov, or if she was simply a mentally ill woman who   
  
thought that she was a member of the Russian monarchy. There   
  
are more issues at stake here: the life of at least four   
  
people depends on the result of this DNA test," John Doggett   
  
said emphatically.   
  
"Mr. Doggett, we are just doing our job. No matter how   
  
important the case is, we *can't* force the strictness of the   
  
science to suit the results we'd like to achieve..." the   
  
forensic expert explained.   
  
The door of the laboratory opened. A woman in a white coat   
  
walked in with a sheet of paper in her hand.   
  
"Doctor Jenkins, Agent Doggett, here are the results from the   
  
DNA test," the woman said as she gave the piece of paper to   
  
her colleague, who just glanced at it and handed it over to   
  
the agent. Doggett read the sheet completely.   
  
"Long Island, NY, September 5th, 2001. After conducting a   
  
strict analysis on bone tissue samples collected from the   
  
corpse of a boy interred at Peacefield Cemetery, Long Island,   
  
under the name of Luke John Doggett, and comparing these   
  
samples with a blood sample taken from FBI Special Agent John   
  
Jay Doggett, and after running the same tests three times   
  
using the most advanced available techniques in genetics, the   
  
undersigned forensic pathologists came to the conclusion that   
  
the result of the test was NEGATIVE. Signed, James J. Humes,   
  
Chief of Forensic Pathology, Robert N. McClelland, Chief of   
  
Forensic Genetics Laboratory..."   
  
Doggett staggered. Sweat began to run from his forehead.   
  
"Are you OK, Agent Doggett...?" Doctor Jenkins inquired, when   
  
he saw that Doggett's face had turned pale.   
  
"I have just received what may be the best news in my whole   
  
life, but... But it hurts more than the three bullet wounds   
  
in my body. During the past four years, I have been in   
  
mourning for a son who is not dead and... And to figure out   
  
the truth I had to risk people who don't deserve what I've   
  
done to them..." Doggett paused for what seemed like an   
  
eternity. "Damn it! I won't rest until the people responsible   
  
for this are punished!" the agent exclaimed, crumpling the   
  
sheet of paper in his trembling hands. Then, he filled his   
  
lungs with air and tried to calm down.   
  
Doggett's cell phone rang in the middle of that furious   
  
promise.   
  
"John Doggett!"   
  
"Do you want to lower your voice and tell me where the hell   
  
you are? Why did you leave the hospital without medical   
  
permission?" Assistant Director Brad Follmer asked from the   
  
other side of the line.   
  
"I'm not with Agent Reyes, if that's your concern... And   
  
where I am is none of your business..." Doggett replied   
  
unwillingly.   
  
"This is not a courtesy call, so I will get the point, Agent   
  
Doggett. Agent Scully and her son have disappeared after the   
  
shooting in which you were wounded yesterday. Assistant   
  
Director Skinner has designated a task force led by him to   
  
scrutinize every inch of D.C., Virginia and Maryland till we   
  
find the whereabouts of the kidnappers and their hostages. We   
  
have lost all contact with Agent Reyes and External Adviser   
  
Mulder in South Dakota. There has been no communication with   
  
the FBI offices there or the South Dakota Police Department   
  
either. We're guessing that both of these events must be   
  
related. Therefore, I've volunteered to go out there   
  
personally to look for them," Follmer informed Doggett.   
  
"Wow! You and Monica *alone* in Mount Rushmore? I guess   
  
you're very pleased. Have a good time," Doggett replied   
  
sarcastically.   
  
"Don't be an idiot, Doggett. If you were able to get out of   
  
your hospital bed with three bullet holes in your body, you   
  
won't have any problem getting to South Dakota. Let's meet at   
  
Dulles Airport at 11 A.M., OK?" Assistant Director suggested.   
  
"I'm not in Washington and there's a personal matter in   
  
Fulton that I need to take care of today. So, if you want,   
  
I'll contact you tonight at Chicago Airport. Then, we'll get   
  
a flight to Rapid City..."   
  
"Fine. I'll be there at 6 P.M."   
  
Both men hung up.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
UNKNOWN LOCATION   
  
10:22 A.M.   
  
At least four men barged into Scully's room and immobilized   
  
her. A doctor injected her with a sedative that took effect   
  
in seconds. Then, the unknown physician took William to the   
  
laboratory. It was clear that they did not want to harm the   
  
baby, which was evident due to the careful way William was   
  
treated. William was examined in detail, both visually and   
  
through the use of modern medical-monitoring electronic   
  
devices. The result of the tests astonished the Consortium   
  
scientists because, as Doggett, Diana and Marita were told in   
  
the limousine, they could detect no differences from the   
  
genetic structure of any other human being. However, they   
  
discovered an unknown extra element in the composition of his   
  
chromosome chain by matching a blood sample and a hair lock.   
  
This extra element was the basis of little William's   
  
exceptional physical condition. Another blood sample was   
  
extracted from the baby in order to produce an artificial   
  
copy of his chromosome chain in a lab environment. With this   
  
copy of William's chromosome chain, the scientists hoped to   
  
create perfect clones of William, immune to every illness,   
  
both human and alien, and able to regenerate wounded organic   
  
tissues.   
  
When they had finished the procedure, a nurse took the baby   
  
back to Scully's bedroom. She was already awake and in the   
  
bathroom. As Scully heard the nurse coming into the room and   
  
leaving William in his cradle, the agent broke the mirror on   
  
the wall.   
  
"Mrs. Scully...?" the nurse asked in surprise as she heard   
  
the noise.   
  
"Help me, please! I fell down!" Dana Scully shouted from the   
  
bathroom.   
  
The nurse opened the door but did not see anyone lying on the   
  
floor. As she turned around, she found herself almost face to   
  
face with Scully, who hit her on the head with the lid of the   
  
toilet tank. Then, as fast as she could, Dana took the   
  
uniform off the nurse and changed her own clothes.   
  
"You'd rather keep sleeping, Willie," Agent Scully whispered   
  
to her son as she lifted him from the cradle and went out the   
  
bedroom door that the nurse had not closed.   
  
A security guard, who saw Scully through a video camera in   
  
surveillance central, turned on the alarms.   
  
--------------------------------  
  
KEYSTONE SOUTH DAKOTA   
  
10:55 A.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)   
  
Agent Reyes and External Adviser Mulder had arrived in   
  
Keystone in the middle of an enormous rainstorm the night   
  
before. Compared to the motel in Rapid City, which was a real   
  
nest of mice, the motel near Mount Rushmore was a pigsty, and   
  
that description was generous: the heating did not work, so   
  
that Mulder and Reyes were close to freezing, shivering with   
  
cold in their rooms, and the roof had so many holes that it   
  
rained inside as well as outside the hotel. What's more, none   
  
of the phones worked there, either.   
  
Monica Reyes was disturbed. She had not been able to get a   
  
wink of sleep the whole night and a wide range of thoughts,   
  
each of them more unpleasant than the previous one, filled   
  
her head, which had started to hurt. The rain did not stop   
  
and the sky was completely black. She could barely see the   
  
rocky faces of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and   
  
Theodore Roosevelt, sculpted in the white stone of Mount   
  
Rushmore. The U.S. Aeronautic Federal Administration had   
  
suspended all flights in that area due to the weather   
  
conditions, so if she and Mulder wanted to go back to D.C.   
  
they would have to do it by car. As a believer in paranormal   
  
phenomena, the UFO case in Keystone was very intriguing to   
  
her, but what was more intriguing was the fact that she   
  
hadn't heard any news from Doggett or anyone else in   
  
Washington since they had left the capital. At that moment,   
  
the only thing she wanted was to get to Washington as soon as   
  
possible. Her sharp sense of perception had convinced her   
  
that something really bad had happened.  
  
Mulder hadn't slept either. Through intuition and by   
  
unconsciously accessing the mental skills he had acquired   
  
after his abduction, he knew that things weren't right in   
  
Washington. The extrasensory connection he had recently   
  
developed with Scully was blocked, and this made him even   
  
more worried.   
  
With dark circles under their eyes, Mulder and Reyes were   
  
having coffee to mitigate the loss of sleep and fuel their   
  
long journey back to Washington. All of a sudden, they saw   
  
Sheriff Delani's patrol car through the cafeteria window.   
  
"Good morning, Agent Reyes, External Adviser Mulder..." the   
  
policeman said, greeting them as he walked into the   
  
cafeteria. "As the telecommunication systems is still out of   
  
service in South Dakota, we came personally because we   
  
thought you two might be interested in what we found out."   
  
"'We' came...?" Reyes inquired, wondering why Delani spoke in   
  
the plural. Deputy Peters showed up at the door. He looked   
  
overwhelmed.   
  
"External Adviser Mulder, you were right. We have found the   
  
teenagers... But not all of them..." Peters stated, as he   
  
wiped the sweat away from his forehead with a tissue.   
  
Mulder looked at him, confused.   
  
"In fact, they stole some things from their homes and ran   
  
away to spite their parents. But one of them, Mark Hill, has   
  
a secret that we found out," Delani continued. "His *real*   
  
name was Mark Castle, and he was a member of a sect that-"   
  
"You mean a cult sect?" Reyes asked, interrupting him.   
  
"Yes, a cult," Sheriff Delani said. "Mark Castle was the   
  
oldest of the missing boys and was involved in a cult sect   
  
whose rules stated that when a member became an adult - at 18   
  
- he had to kill two younger boys as a 'sacrificial ritual'.   
  
Otherwise, he would have to kill himself. Mark Castle's 18th   
  
birthday was last week. We know that, early this morning, the   
  
other boys returned home, frightened. Castle committed   
  
suicide the night before in front of them by shooting himself   
  
in the head. He had tried to kill his friends, burning them   
  
alive in their tent, fragments of which we found. Castle's   
  
body hasn't been located." he added.   
  
"These kinds of rites are not uncommon in several sects,   
  
especially the ones involving satanic and pseudo-satanic   
  
sacrificial rituals," Reyes told Deputy Peters in a serious   
  
and professional tone of voice.   
  
"It's a pity but I don't think there's anything that we, as   
  
FBI agents, can do in this case. This is merely a crime, not   
  
an X-File. Let the Police investigate the facts," Fox Mulder   
  
said.   
  
"Well, in any case, External Adviser Mulder, your theory was   
  
correct," Peters said. "The teenagers wanted to laugh at   
  
their families, if only for a few days, then go back home,   
  
but they didn't know that Mark Castle would try to kill them.   
  
The note they left was, in a certain way, true, but it was   
  
written by Mark himself," Peters went on saying.   
  
Mulder nodded quietly. All of a sudden, some confusing ideas   
  
began to mix.   
  
Gunshots...   
  
Kids...   
  
The ex-agent shook his head.   
  
Death...   
  
"It isn't necessary for you two to stay here, Agent Reyes,   
  
Mr. Mulder," Delani admitted. "We can take charge of the   
  
situation. And regarding the UFO case..."   
  
"Regarding that case, I think we'd rather return to   
  
Washington right now. Once there, we'll transfer the case on   
  
UFO sightings in Mount Rushmore, and related events, to the   
  
local FBI office in South Dakota. Mulder and I have serious   
  
reasons to suspect that the failure of the telecommunication   
  
systems in this zone is not due to Extraterrestrial   
  
Biological Entities," Monica stated.   
  
"OK. On behalf of the South Dakota Police Department, we   
  
thank you for your cooperation. Have a good trip," Sheriff   
  
Delani said as way of farewell.   
  
"Good bye..." Peters mumbled as he put his hat on.   
  
Delani and Peters were about to leave the cafeteria, when   
  
suddenly one of the patrons exclaimed as loudly as his lungs   
  
would allow:   
  
"OH, MY GOD! LOOK AT THAT!"   
  
In seconds, the whole place seemed to be filled with such a   
  
glow that the day was one of sunny summer daylight and not   
  
dark clouds and rain. The two policemen, the FBI Agent, and   
  
the External Adviser walked out of the cafeteria into the   
  
street, accompanied by the rest of the patrons and bystanders   
  
around the motel. They all saw an intense and blinding light   
  
that covered the entire sky, coming from the top of Mount   
  
Rushmore's sculptures of the Presidents. Mulder moved back   
  
two steps, unconsciously, because the scene was almost the   
  
same as the one he had seen when he had been abducted. Reyes,   
  
in spite of being a UFO believer and seeing one flying saucer   
  
before finding Mulder 'dead,' was also astounded.   
  
"Are... are you seeing what I'm seeing, Mulder?" Monica   
  
questioned him in a trembling, fearful voice.   
  
"Yes... I am damned if this is not true...!" Mulder shouted. "It sounds   
  
crazy, but, at this moment I wish I didn't believe..." he   
  
joked.  
  
"I wish John were here to see this... in order to convince   
  
his f* stubborn skeptic brain..."  
  
"I'm afraid it wouldn't help, Reyes. Scully didn't believe in   
  
UFOs, not even after we escaped from one in the Antarctic..."   
  
The light became brighter than it already was. None of the   
  
eyewitnesses of the phenomenon, standing in its glow, could   
  
run away. Delani, Peters, Mulder and Reyes tried to look for   
  
a safer place inside the motel but, as they were about to   
  
move to the door, everything just stopped. The world became   
  
still, as if it was a photograph...  
  
---------------------------------  
  
FULTON, NEW YORK   
  
1:43 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)   
  
John Doggett got out of his rented car. His legs trembled. He   
  
had driven as fast as he could for more than four hours, his   
  
left arm in a sling, and sweating in abundance, despite the   
  
cold weather. The FBI Agent closed the car door and faced the   
  
Sweet Hope Children's Home. He felt anger rise involuntarily   
  
as he saw the old and ugly facade of the orphanage Luke was   
  
in.   
  
Staggering, Doggett moved to the entrance of the house. He   
  
felt dizzy. His body temperature was extremely high because   
  
of the bullet wounds and a lack of rest. Underneath the   
  
bandages, his wounds hurt as if he had just been shot.   
  
Doggett looked at the card in his right hand: "Michael   
  
Stewart. Director". Then he rang the bell and heard several   
  
childish giggles and small steps that vanished quickly in the   
  
air. A bulky woman dressed in grey stuck her head out of a   
  
window in the door.   
  
"May I help you, sir?"   
  
"Good afternoon. I'm John Doggett. Is Director Stewart here?   
  
I have an appointment with him..." Doggett said, trying to   
  
look inside the narrow window.   
  
"Director Stewart is waiting for you," the woman answered as   
  
she opened the door. "Please, come in."   
  
Doggett went through a dark hall. The woman invited him to   
  
follow her to a brown door, which screeched as she opened it.   
  
The agent could see images of orphanages taken from Charles   
  
Dickens novels in his mind. Inside the office, Michael   
  
Stewart, the director, stood up to greet Doggett. Stewart was   
  
a bald and pleasant old man with a light voice. As he saw   
  
him, Doggett breathed in relief.   
  
"Good afternoon, Agent Doggett. We were waiting for you,"   
  
Stewart said, shaking Doggett's right hand.   
  
"I know. Thanks a lot," Doggett answered. Both of them sat   
  
down. Doggett tried unsuccessfully to clear his throat before   
  
explaining how he had discovered the location of his son.   
  
With an unusually hoarse voice, Doggett explained the facts.   
  
"...And, as the genetic test was negative, I was determined   
  
to find my son. Some days ago, I was told by a confidential   
  
source, that Luke was here..." Doggett concluded. His   
  
forehead glistened with sweat, not only because of the fever   
  
but also his anguish.   
  
"In fact, Agent John Doggett, Luke, known by us as Luther Coy   
  
Doherty, is here..." the Orphanage Director assured him as he   
  
looked at the photographs and the wrinkled sheet of the DNA   
  
test results that Doggett had shown him as supporting   
  
evidence.   
  
Stewart's words sounded almost unbelievable to Doggett. As if   
  
it was a vision, Doggett saw Stewart push the button of a   
  
bell, and the woman who had welcomed him to the orphanage   
  
appeared again. She was asked to bring Luke. Seconds later,   
  
John Doggett was in front of his son, Luke John.   
  
"I will leave you two alone, so you can speak in private,"   
  
Director Stewart declared, leaving the office.   
  
"Hello." It was the only word that Doggett could say.   
  
"Hello," Luke answered.   
  
He already looked like a 10-year-old kid, but he had the same   
  
features Doggett could remember and recognize in himself: the   
  
same eyes, the same look, the same firm expression.   
  
"Do you... do you know why I'm here?" the agent asked, unable   
  
to believe what he was seeing.   
  
"Yes... I was told that they had located my father and that   
  
he would come to see me." Luke went over Doggett, as if he   
  
was afraid that it was a dream. Then, he stretched out his   
  
small hand. "Are you...? Are you really my *Daddy Doggie*?"   
  
Nobody in the world, except his ex-wife, knew how his son   
  
used to refer to his father in that affectionate way. There   
  
was no doubt. This child was his beloved son, Luke John...   
  
The strong and brave agent from Georgia couldn't help but   
  
burst into tears as he hugged Luke. Not even the pain in his   
  
wounded left arm was enough to stop John Doggett from   
  
embracing his son as a castaway grabs at a piece of wood in   
  
the middle of the ocean. The boy hugged his father strongly,   
  
too.   
  
"Of course I am, my *Lucky Luke*! I'm your father!"   
  
"I knew that this year the wish I made on my last birthday   
  
would come true... daddy, you came for my birthday... the day   
  
after tomorrow!"   
  
"Yes, I know. Do you think I had forgotten it?" Doggett said,   
  
lifting Luke with his right arm, demonstrating that even   
  
though his body and soul were injured, the strength of his   
  
days as a U.S. Marine in Lebanon were still with him. The   
  
stamina that he had maintained during the war, that damn war   
  
that had kept him away from his home, was the same one that   
  
had allowed him to now remain on his feet.   
  
Doggett was happy and angry at the same time. He was happy   
  
because he had just recovered his son and because all of the   
  
mourning of the last three years had ended. That remote hope   
  
that everything had been a mistake, which he had always kept   
  
in the deepest place of his heart, had come true. Luke was   
  
with him... Doggett wished that Monica could share his   
  
happiness, in the same way that she had shared his pain when   
  
he had lost Luke... But, at the same time, he was fuming in   
  
anger at himself because of what he had done to get his son   
  
back. He had given Scully and her baby to her enemies. Agent   
  
Doggett wasn't exactly a firm religious believer, but at that   
  
instant he regarded himself as Judas. And it was such a   
  
horrible sensation... An intolerable feeling.   
  
"Let's go outside for a moment, *Lucky Luke*. I need to   
  
breathe some fresh air," Doggett said to his son.   
  
Luke led his father to the door and then to a garden. There,   
  
the sun covered them with its warmth and lightness. The fever   
  
was literally devouring Doggett, who was holding his son's   
  
hand as they walked on the grass.   
  
"Come on, *Daddy Doggie*!" Luke exclaimed, running towards   
  
some trees.   
  
Trees...   
  
A forest...   
  
Luke...   
  
Doggett followed him, trying to catch up with him. A shiver   
  
overwhelmed him as he saw the kid strolling among those   
  
trees. The forest near the orphanage was very similar to the   
  
one in which Monica had stood waiting for him when he arrived   
  
to identify Luke's corpse. As Doggett walked around the trunk   
  
of an old birch tree, he found himself face to face with   
  
Luke, who was smiling at him. It was the same smile that the   
  
boy had inherited from his mother.   
  
"Thanks for coming to look for me, Dad," the boy said, mixing   
  
laughter and tears.   
  
Doggett smiled at Luke slightly and hugged him again. This   
  
time, the bullet wounds in his arm burned as if they were   
  
soaked in vinegar. As they moved apart, father and son stared   
  
at each other for a moment, a moment that was interrupted   
  
when Doggett felt a sudden and terrible ache in his head. The   
  
temperature of his body seemed to be rising in a matter of   
  
seconds. The dizziness made the whole forest spin around   
  
them. Doggett's sight became blurred and he felt almost   
  
blind. He staggered and tried to hold Luke's hand.   
  
"Daddy...?" Luke asked in concern, seeing how his father's   
  
face had collapsed.   
  
"Luke... my son..." his voice was absolutely   
  
incomprehensible. Then everything seemed to turn into   
  
darkness and Doggett fainted.   
  
---------------------------------  
  
UNKNOWN LOCATION   
  
1:55 P.M.   
  
Dressed as a nurse, Dana Scully escaped from her room through   
  
the hallway, holding sleepy William in her arms. There was no   
  
one in the corridor, so she tried to find an exit by   
  
following the numbers on the doors. She could see a group of   
  
people in the distance moving closer.   
  
"She couldn't have got too far," Marita Covarrubias said. She   
  
was the leader of the search team. "Central, do you have an   
  
image of Scully from any of the cameras? Over," she spoke   
  
through the radio.   
  
"Negative... Over..." an anonymous voice answered back from   
  
the walkie-talkie.   
  
"Keep alert, Central! Tell us as soon as you see   
  
her...Over..."   
  
"OK. Over and out..."   
  
Scully hid quickly around a corner of the hall, out of the   
  
sight range of her pursuers. William woke up and started to   
  
sob. Dana trued to calm him down in order to avoid that they   
  
were discovered. Apparently, the agent succeeded, since the   
  
baby fell asleep again. Nevertheless, as she thought that the   
  
danger had finished, two steps from some stairs she heard   
  
behind her the last voice that she ever had imagined to heard   
  
again. Her blood froze.   
  
"Nice try, Dana."   
  
As she turned around, Scully saw Diana Fowley in front of her   
  
with her hands on her hips, smiling sarcastically.   
  
"You won't stop me from escaping..." Scully mumbled as she   
  
pressed William against her chest.   
  
"'Course I will," Diana stated. "The boy..."   
  
Two strong identical men, who had accompanied Fowley, fell   
  
upon Scully and took William away from her, although she   
  
tried to fight them off. But it was to no avail.   
  
"William...! Give him back to me!" Dana Scully shouted in   
  
despair.   
  
The baby began crying and his screams broke the silence of   
  
the place. Fowley opened a grey metallic door, and the two   
  
men went through it with Scully's little son. Then, Diana   
  
moved towards her old enemy and threatened her in hatred.   
  
"Now you are going to pay for all the things you've done to   
  
me, you bitch..." she whispered as she grabbed Scully by her   
  
shirt front.   
  
Scully tried to defend herself, but Fowley used her   
  
extraordinary strength to full advantage and dragged Dana to   
  
a place that looked like an operating room. Once there, she   
  
tied Scully to a chair, then closed the door and locked it.   
  
Dana Scully struggled to free herself from her bonds.   
  
"Finally, we are alone, dear Agent Scully..." Diana Fowley   
  
said ironically. Then she opened a surgery kit and took out a   
  
small, shining scalpel, as well as some other surgical   
  
instruments. Scully trembled with fear when she saw them.   
  
"During all those years I was fighting against terrorism in   
  
the Middle East, I was in contact with the worst criminals   
  
and knew some procedures banned by the Geneva Convention and   
  
regarded as 'torture'. I would not refer to them that way.   
  
No... Actually, they are for me 'unofficial police   
  
procedures,' aimed at getting confessions from criminals..."   
  
"I am NOT a criminal and I have NOTHING to confess... much   
  
less to you!" Scully replied bravely, despite her fears.   
  
"I know and I don't care. Let's say that this session will be   
  
*didactic* for you, and it will be a review for my   
  
knowledge..." Fowley stated, as she brandished the sharpened   
  
scalpel near Scully's face.   
  
A few seconds later, the screams of horror and pain echoed   
  
off the walls of that huge military complex.   
  
----------------------------------  
  
FULTON, NEW YORK   
  
3:31 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)   
  
Doggett came to as he felt the sun shining full on his face.   
  
Lying on the ground, Doggett shook his head, which still hurt   
  
a lot. He stood up clumsily. Hesitant and disorientated, he   
  
looked around. Luke wasn't anywhere in the forest.   
  
"Luke...?" John Doggett called, his voice hoarse.   
  
There was no answer.   
  
The FBI Agent headed for the orphanage, walking heavily.   
  
"Luke, can you hear me? LUUUUUKE!" Doggett insisted. He still   
  
didn't receive an answer.   
  
Doggett ran to the place where he had parked his car as   
  
quickly as he could, which was about 30 or 40 meters from we   
  
had passed out. What John Jay Doggett saw then was,   
  
undoubtedly, the most traumatic and unbelievable experience   
  
of his entire life: the orphanage was not there. It had just   
  
disappeared. There was only an empty space in the middle of   
  
the forest, and there was not the slightest trace, not even a   
  
brick or a stone, of any building named "Sweet Hope   
  
Children's Home".   
  
Doggett walked around the forest as if he was an automaton.   
  
He did not find anything. There was absolutely nothing. There   
  
was no proof that any orphanage directed by a certain Michael   
  
Stewart had ever existed there, or that his son, Luke, had   
  
lived in that place. Luke had disappeared again...   
  
Frightened, Doggett rummaged around in his pockets with his   
  
free hand, and was surprised to find that neither Luke's   
  
photographs, nor the files that the Black-Suit Man had given   
  
to him in the hospital, were there. The only two things that   
  
he found were the small military shield from Lebanon that   
  
Luke had been wearing on his U.S. Marine costume and the   
  
battered piece of paper containing the DNA test results. John   
  
was beaten by a wave of anguish and disbelief.   
  
"THOSE SONS OF BITCHES TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!" Doggett   
  
shouted as he furiously pounded the trunk of his car so hard   
  
that he came close to breaking his right hand. "I WON'T LET   
  
THEM DO THIS TO ME AGAIN! SCULLY! MONICA! LUUUUUKE!"   
  
The angry and desperate shouts of the man vanished in the   
  
depths of the forest.   
  
TO BE CONTINUED   
  
Please send comments to: rafaelzeap@terra.com and   
  
missy_kath@hotmail.com 


	3. Chess Game 3

TITLE: Chess Game III: Checkmate  
  
ORIGINAL TITLE IN SPANISH: Tablero de Ajedrez: Jaque Mate  
  
AUTHOR: Rafael Zea (rafaelzeap@terra.com.co)  
  
DISCLAIMER: The characters from The X-Files used in this story belong to Chris Carter,   
  
20th Century Fox and 1013 Productions. It is not our intention to infringe the copyright   
  
laws.  
  
CLASSIFICATION: WIP (3/3); X-File, with a subtle touch of MSR and DRR.  
  
RATING: PG-13  
  
SPOILERS: This story takes place after "Existence". There are some references to   
  
"Syzygy," "Invocation," "Dead Alive," and "Empedocles". "Jump the Shark", "William",   
  
and "Release" never happened.   
  
SUMMARY: It's the end. After the last move, only one King will survive.  
  
Author's Note: This was first published in December 2001 and is available at   
  
http://www.silverbug-x-files.com/relato1111.htm  
  
---------------------------------  
  
KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA  
  
6:43 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)  
  
The brightness that had blinded the witnesses of the phenomenon disappeared suddenly.   
  
Sheriff Delani and Deputy Peters realized that neither Mulder nor Reyes were in the motel.   
  
The two FBI investigators had vanished from the place. Nobody was able to comprehend   
  
what had actually happened, and when they tried to explain the facts to each other, their   
  
versions of the story were contradictory. It was as if someone had intentionally tangled   
  
their ideas in order to cause chaos. One group of witnesses said that they had seen an   
  
incandescent object flying to the statues sculpted on Mount Rushmore. Another one assured   
  
everyone that they had seen a UFO that had disappeared in front of their eyes, while a third   
  
group of people stated that they had seen "something" similar to a comet that had broken   
  
into pieces.  
  
Even through the confusion, Adrian Hughes, Keystone Police Department Chief, put   
  
together a group of policemen who, along with Delani and Peters, would look for the   
  
missing agent and the FBI external adviser. Since all communication systems were still   
  
down and it was impossible to get in touch with the search task group once they were   
  
outside the town, Hughes preferred to stay at the police headquarters, waiting for any news   
  
- whatever it was.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Physically and emotionally hurt by the events in Fulton, Doggett drove his rented car to   
  
Syracuse Airport and boarded a two-engine powered plane to Chicago, where he met   
  
Assistant Director Follmer and they both chartered a flight to Rapid City. There, they   
  
would continue the trip by land to Keystone.  
  
Due to the "Monica issue," it hardly took a mind reader to see that John Doggett and Brad   
  
Follmer hated each other, and during the trip they barely said a word, referring only briefly   
  
to Scully and William's kidnapping and the lack of communication with Mulder and Reyes   
  
in Dakota. By 6:45 pm Agent Doggett and Assistant Director Follmer arrived in Chief   
  
Hughes' office.  
  
"Chief Hughes, good afternoon... I mean, good evening. I am FBI Assistant Director Brad   
  
Follmer..." the blonde A.D. said slowly, looking at Doggett out of the corner of his eye.   
  
"...And he is Special Agent John Doggett. We've come from Washington in search of   
  
Special Agent Monica Reyes and External Adviser Fox Mulder because we've had no   
  
information on them since they left D.C. 48 hours ago..."  
  
"Good evening, sirs. I wish I had better news for you, but I don't," Hughes answered,   
  
standing up to greet them.  
  
"What do you mean, Chief?" Doggett inquired, worried.  
  
"Today, around noon, a weird phenomenon occurred which, according to the eye witnesses,   
  
might have been a UFO sighting. Agent Reyes and Adviser Mulder were there as it   
  
happened, but by the time the *flying saucer* disappeared, they both were already missing.   
  
Up till now, there hasn't been any clue to their whereabouts..." the policeman said.  
  
"Does this mean that Mulder and Reyes *vanished* along with this so-called UFO?"   
  
Follmer asked, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
"It sounds ridiculous, but it's the only thing we've all been able to agree on," Chief Hughes   
  
pointed out. "The people who watched the events have different versions of the facts, and   
  
most of them contradict one another," he added.  
  
"I've heard about behaviour like that in previous investigations. This is what Mulder would   
  
call a 'time and memory absence,' but it seems like this time, owing to the large number of   
  
witnesses, some confusing *traces* were left in their memories," John Doggett said, basing   
  
this statement on what he knew about previously solved X-Files cases.  
  
"May we talk with any of the witnesses?" Follmer questioned.  
  
"We have no time now!" Doggett interrupted him. "Finding Reyes and Mulder is our   
  
priority."  
  
"A Keystone Police search task force has already started a search. Deputy Peters and   
  
Sheriff Delani from Rapid City are also searching for them," Hughes explained.  
  
"OK, OK! Where are they?" Doggett asked as he began to walk towards the door.  
  
"They are in the forest nearby Mount Rushmore..." the Police Chief answered.  
  
Doggett and Follmer left the police headquarters immediately.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
HAMPTON, VIRGINIA  
  
9:28 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
The communication experts from the FBI had intercepted part of an encoded conversation   
  
about a 'guest' who wanted to 'leave the party'. Through triangulation of the faint radio   
  
signal, the source of the conversation was traced to a warehouse at the Hampton Dock, at   
  
Chesapeake Bay's shore. Skinner, about 30 FBI agents and a SWAT team went to the   
  
warehouse, as A.D. Skinner was sure that Scully and William could be hidden inside. The   
  
warehouse was surrounded carefully both by land and by sea through a coast guard patrol.   
  
The Lone Gunmen intercepted all communication signals going from or coming to the   
  
warehouse, so that the warehouse was completely isolated. The occupants inside had no   
  
chance to escape or seek help from the Consortium...  
  
"Musketeers here... The Three Little Pigs have been locked away... Over..." Langly said   
  
through the radio of a van filled with crazy electronic gadgets designed by the Lone   
  
Gunmen.  
  
"Big Bad Wolf here... Are you ready to get inside the Three Litle Pigs's house...? Over..." Skinner   
  
said to all units.   
  
"Unit One, go! Over."  
  
"Unit Two, go! Over."  
  
"Unit Three, go! Over."  
  
"Aquatic Unit here. We can see movement from the warehouse... Over..." the Coast Guard   
  
team leader said.  
  
"OK. Let's go in!" A.D. Skinner ordered.  
  
FBI agents and SWAT team members burst into the warehouse from the roof and   
  
surrounded the building on all four sides. The idea was to take control of the situation as   
  
soon as possible in order to avoid a counterattack from the people inside the building. They   
  
hoped to prevent a shoot-out in which Scully and William could be wounded. That goal   
  
was quickly achieved as the guards from the main gate, and the ones taking care of the   
  
other entrances, were immobilized without firing any shots. Skinner and an outpost team of   
  
SWAT men went to the laboratory, in which William was being examined again by the   
  
genetics experts. Several samples of human-like organs were submerged in jars containing   
  
a green liquid.  
  
"Everybody keep still!" Walter Skinner shouted as he aimed at one of the scientists who   
  
were examining William. The SWAT team members pointed their weapons at the rest of   
  
the people in the laboratory.  
  
"Not so fast, Assistant Director Skinner!" one woman in a white coat said. She was near the   
  
baby, her back to Skinner. Then she turned around, showing her face... She was Marita   
  
Covarrubias.  
  
Astonished, Skinner saw that the beautiful and evil blonde member of the Consortium was   
  
holding the same device that the late Alex Krycek had possessed. It was the same device   
  
that could kill Walter Skinner with only the push of a button.  
  
"Why do you have that thing? Krycek...?" Skinner managed to say. His voice trembled.  
  
"My dear Alex was very careful and gave me a gadget identical to the one he had, just in   
  
case anything bad ever happened to him... For instance, if someone fired a bullet in his head   
  
in the Hoover Building underground garage," Marita pointed out, ironically.  
  
"Krycek was going to kill Mulder. I had to do it..." A.D. Skinner said, trying to justify his   
  
actions.  
  
"I don't give a damn about what could have happened to Mulder! You murdered Krycek, in   
  
cold blood, and if I push this button now you can call it quits. You are pointing a high-  
  
precision rifle at me after all, aren't you?" she said with menace.  
  
"Go ahead. Push it! You'll kill me but the men who are with me will fill your body with   
  
hundreds of bullets in less than a second," Skinner dared her.  
  
"If I press this button and you or your people shoot me, we're not the only ones who are   
  
going to die. The pathogen nanobots have been injected into William's bloodstream... So,   
  
the choice is yours," Covarrubias stated, playing her best card.  
  
"You wouldn't be able to-"  
  
"See you in hell, Skin-!" Marita screamed as she pushed the switch that turned on the   
  
nanobots.  
  
A thousandth of a second later, one shot was heard.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
MOUNT RUSHMORE  
  
KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA  
  
8:35 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
Doggett and Follmer had contacted the search team looking for the missing agents at Mount   
  
Rushmore. Up to that point, the team had not found any clue on Mulder and Reyes'   
  
disappearance. Doggett felt sick and the fever made his forehead smoulder almost as   
  
intensely as it had when he had found Luke. Doggett had not said a word to anyone about   
  
the events in Fulton, and had promised himself not to comment about it until Monica and   
  
Mulder were located, Scully and her baby were rescued, and he had received some news   
  
about Luke. Even if he managed to accomplish all of these goals, Doggett knew that he   
  
would probably only talk to Monica about it because she was the only person he really   
  
trusted...  
  
"Why are you so quiet, Doggett? Are you trying to listen to the *vibrations* that Monica   
  
emits so you can locate her?" Follmer asked Doggett sarcastically as they walked along   
  
with the policemen in the middle of the forest.  
  
"This is not the right moment to say something like that, Director Follmer..." Doggett   
  
replied bitterly as he looked at Mount Rushmore's sculptures. "I was thinking about Buck   
  
Rogers..."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"A long time ago, I saw an episode of 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century' in which Mount   
  
Rushmore was actually a nuclear bunker constructed during the 1940s in the middle of   
  
World War II..." Agent Doggett said, looking speculative.  
  
"You're not saying you believe in such nonsense are you, Agent Doggett?" Follmer asked,   
  
laughing. "For God's sake! If we indeed wish to find Reyes and Mulder, we can't base our   
  
search on information extracted from a 1970s sci-fi series," he said, refuting Doggett's   
  
theory.  
  
"Let me join in your conversation, Mr. Follmer," Sheriff Delani said, interrupting. "Here in   
  
South Dakota, people have always conjectured on that hypothesis. There is no evidence to   
  
prove it, but... but lots of rumours that something is hidden inside those huge white rocks..."  
  
"You see?!" Doggett exclaimed in victory, staring at Follmer.  
  
"My father used to say that, when he was a child, they were constructing the monument in   
  
honor of the presidents. In those days, nobody was allowed to go in that zone, but both he   
  
and my grandparents saw several enormous trucks, heavy machinery and equipment that   
  
were too large to be used for simply constructing stone sculptures," Deputy Peters added,   
  
wiping away the sweat from his forehead, even though it was about nine at night.  
  
"According to the case files for some of the investigations Mulder conducted a long time   
  
ago, which were similar to the one which brought him and Monica here in the first place,   
  
that area has been the epicenter of alleged *UFO activity*," Doggett stated, reinforcing the   
  
idea.  
  
"So let's go find some little green men inside George Washington's head," Follmer   
  
suggested, not believing anything he had heard.  
  
"Shhhh! Look over there... that light... Can you see it?" Doggett said as he pointed at a   
  
small point of light that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the bushes, apparently   
  
coming from a hole in the rocks, underneath the monument.  
  
Doggett, Follmer, Delani, Peters and the other three policemen went over to the hole. It   
  
looked like a tunnel. Completely visible, even though the darkness that prevailed there.  
  
"It seems to be an air source... a sort of ventilation shaft," Follmer suggested.  
  
"Ventilation for what?" Delani asked.  
  
"For an underground facility or something like that," Doggett whispered to the policemen.   
  
"A.D Follmer and I are going to go inside. Wait for us here. If we don't come back in a   
  
reasonable amount of time, get help."  
  
"Hey, hey! I'm the one giving the orders!" Follmer replied. "We're going to enter that   
  
tunnel. Wait for us. If we don't come back within a reasonable time, go get help."  
  
"That's exactly what I said!" Doggett pointed out.  
  
"Yes, it is, but I'm the Assistant Director here, NOT you..."  
  
Looking at each other in anger, John Doggett and Brad Follmer, wielding their weapons,   
  
walked towards the strangely illuminated hole. As Doggett was left-handed and his left arm   
  
was in a sling, he was forced to carry his gun in his right hand. Although he had learnt how   
  
to shoot a gun with both hands during his training as a U.S. Marine, a policeman and an   
  
FBI Agent, his marksmanship with his right hand was not as good as his left. If he had to   
  
shoot at someone or something at that moment, and the target was too far away or moving,   
  
he could probably hit it, but the aim wouldn't be as exact.  
  
Follmer, on the other hand, was frightened in spite of being boastful and pretending to be a   
  
brave man. He had volunteered to travel to South Dakota because he believed that Reyes   
  
and Mulder had been cut off from Washington, not missing. Besides, Follmer thought it   
  
was the perfect chance to impress Monica by acting as a hero. She would see how   
  
concerned he had been for her and come across as *the brave one* compared to Doggett.   
  
But things weren't as easy as he thought they would be. Therefore, he was behind Doggett,   
  
so that the other agent would be in the line of fire if they were attacked...  
  
As they moved through the tunnel under Mount Rushmore, Agent Doggett and Assistant   
  
Director Follmer were absolutely sure that it had been constructed by human beings   
  
because there were tracks that proved that some kind of machinery had been used to drill   
  
the tunnel, several years before. Step by step, the tunnel became as narrow as a genuine   
  
ventilation shaft. The light that illuminated the tunnel did not come from light bulbs or any   
  
other visible power source. It was as if it was daylight inside the mountain, although it was   
  
night outside.  
  
By the time they reached a place that was connected to a hatchway, the sound of footsteps,   
  
and the voices of several people who were coming closer, forced Doggett and Follmer to   
  
move back. One of the men from this anonymous group was talking to someone through a   
  
radio that *was* working perfectly, unlike the rest of the communication systems in the   
  
state of South Dakota.  
  
"We've caught them, sir. We had to do another experimental flight with a Sitting Bull   
  
prototype to distract people and bring our guests here, without being seen," the man said to   
  
the person he was speaking to, who seemed to be his superior. "No... Don't worry. Time   
  
and memory gaps will keep these people disoriented, as well as the police, long enough to   
  
complete *the procedure* that you're carrying out there. Then, you can tell us when we   
  
should let them go..."  
  
"The 'Sitting Bull Project'? Are we in the middle of the 'Sitting Bull Project'?" Follmer   
  
mumbled.  
  
"It seems like it. In any case, the writers of 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century' weren't too   
  
far off," Doggett answered Follmer, speaking in a lower voice, a subtle hint of victory in his   
  
tone.  
  
"Is there any other news?" a hoarse voice asked from the other end of the radio.  
  
"Sir, we know that two men from Washington have arrived in Keystone in the last few   
  
hours. We'll be alert just in case they decide to snoop around Mount Rushmore," the man   
  
on the radio said.  
  
"They already know that we're here. We should ask for help from the local FBI office or   
  
the police, at least," Follmer suggested as he heard those words.  
  
"Let's try to take advantage of the surprise factor. We have no communications. They do   
  
and they know that we're already in town, but they don't know that we're inside the   
  
facility," Doggett said. "If Mulder and Reyes are locked away in this cave, we ought to   
  
locate them before we're caught. It's necessary to step carefully..." he added.  
  
The so-called 'Sitting Bull Project,' named after the chief of the Sioux Native American   
  
people, was a highly-confidential program that had existed since World War II. Its aim had   
  
been to develop aircraft capable of reaching unbelievable speeds, superior to any known   
  
supersonic military plane. It was believed, wrongly, that the 'Sitting Bull Project' had been   
  
cancelled after war planes such as the F-14, F-16 and the 'invisible' F-117 - first used in   
  
Iraq in 1991 - had been developed. But the project had not been cancelled. Doggett had had   
  
access to certain information on the operation during the years he was in the Middle East,   
  
and Follmer knew some details about it through his contacts in the CIA, but neither of them   
  
had ever known the actual location of the 'Sitting Bull Project' base. That information was   
  
reserved to U.S. Army General Staff. Underneath Rushmore and that famous symbol of the   
  
United States that had been sculpted in 1942, was hidden a huge military facility where   
  
staff worked constantly on the design of military aircraft prototypes that could resemble a   
  
'UFO' on first glance.  
  
The man who was talking through the radio walked away from Doggett and Follmer with   
  
her partners. Doggett and Follmer went out of the hatchway and reached a narrow metallic   
  
hall with handrails. From there, an enormous hangar could be seen. The Assistant Director   
  
and the Special Agent watched a large group of people who, poring over sophisticated, hi-  
  
tech electronic instruments, were repairing four planes. All of the planes were identical to   
  
the ones that witnesses from all over the world had declared seeing as UFOs. Without being   
  
seen, both men headed for some stairs that led to a corridor with several doors on both   
  
sides. As they were about to open a door, Doggett and Follmer were intercepted by two   
  
soldiers, who came from the other side of the hall. The intruders could not hide themselves.  
  
"Halt! Where's your identification?" one of the soldiers shouted, aiming his rifle at them.  
  
"You take the one on the right and I'll take the one on the left..." Follmer whispered, as he   
  
saw that there were no other choices available to them.  
  
Doggett nodded. The soldiers had moved quite close to them and, even though they risked   
  
being shot, Follmer and Doggett turned around and fell upon them. The two military men   
  
did not have time to use their weapons and were quickly subdued by their attackers.   
  
Doggett and Follmer dragged the unconscious men into a room, then handcuffed them.   
  
They took off their prisoners' uniforms and dressed themselves as soldiers. They also took   
  
their rifles away.  
  
"I'm afraid that we're going to be discovered sooner or later. A soldier with his left arm in a   
  
sling usually stands out," Doggett said.  
  
"If we find Monica and Mulder soon, I'll give my gun to her and you'll give that rifle to   
  
Mulder because, with that shoulder, you'll only be able to hit someone with the butt of the   
  
G-3," Follmer answered sharply.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do, Follmer! The fact that we're here for the same reason doesn't   
  
mean that I'm under your authority," Doggett said, rebuking Follmer.  
  
"Whether you like it or not, I'm your superior!" Follmer threatened Doggett.  
  
"We're not *officially* on any mission, so right here and right now you're NOT my   
  
superior... I'll do things my way!" John Doggett bellowed defiantly as he cocked his rifle.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
HAMPTON, VIRGINIA  
  
9:36 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
Three things happened at the same time: Marita Covarrubias pushed the button of the   
  
nanobot device, one sniper - who was posted in the roof's skylight - had shot Marita, and   
  
A.D. Skinner had collapsed on the floor, feeling the first symptoms of the illness the   
  
nanobot gadget caused. Two SWAT team members tried to help Skinner, while the others   
  
examined Marita's serious wounds.  
  
"Th... the baby!" Skinner shouted with a faltering voice as he heard William burst into   
  
tears, scared by the shooting. "Help...! Help the boy!"  
  
Despite Covarrubias' warning, William had not been affected by the nanobot device. He   
  
seemed to be in perfect condition, just frightened. It seemed like the only survivor of the   
  
old Consortium had simply been boasting about the device to save her own ass.  
  
"The baby is OK, sir," one member of the SWAT team said. "The woman is badly   
  
wounded, but still alive. She has passed out."  
  
"Desss...troy that stuff..." Skinner implored. His veins had started to bulge through his blue-  
  
tinged skin.  
  
The same SWAT team member took the device away from Marita's hands, then put it on   
  
the floor and shot a rifle burst, breaking the gadget into pieces. One bullet bounced on the   
  
floor and hit one of the glass jars containing tissue samples. Skinner's illness disappeared   
  
within seconds and he stood up.  
  
"You three, take the boy out of here and give him to the *Musketeers*. And take her to a   
  
medical facility," Skinner ordered, looking at Covarrubias.  
  
The men under his command obeyed immediately. Skinner headed for the radio.  
  
"Big Bad Wolf to Musketeers... The baby has been released. From now on it's up to you   
  
three... Over."  
  
"Musketeers here... Understood, *Skin*," Frohike's voice said through the radio. "I will   
  
defend him. If necessary I would give my life for William... Over."  
  
"Don't call me *Skin*... An escort team will guard you constantly... Is there any clue about   
  
Scully?... Over."  
  
"Unit One here. Nothing yet... Over."  
  
"Unit Two here. We'll keep looking for her... Over."  
  
"Unit Three. Negative... Over."  
  
"This sounds fishy..." Skinner complained over the radio. "Has anyone out there seen   
  
anything...? Over."  
  
"Aquatic Unit here. No news..."  
  
"Wait a minute... We've detected some heat traces in the zone closest to the dock. It looks   
  
like there are two people walking towards an exit..." Langly said as five members of the   
  
SWAT team arrived at the Lone Gunmen van with William.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
"Wow! It looks like we've got visitors!" Diana Fowley exclaimed as she heard the   
  
shooting.  
  
"You won't be able to keep us hidden forever," Scully said. She was badly hurt and barely   
  
conscious after being tortured.  
  
"Shut up!" Fowley ordered her, slapping Scully in the face. "That idiot Marita was never   
  
able to do anything right," Diana grumbled. "Well, they aren't going to lock me away in a   
  
mental asylum again."  
  
"Are you saying that you're going to fight against the authorities with your surgical   
  
equipment?" Dana Scully asked, laughing at her enemy.  
  
"Maybe I'm a mad woman, but I'm not a stupid one, Scully," Diana refuted her in anger.   
  
"We're going on a long trip instead," Fowley said, grabbing Scully and threatening her with   
  
a sharp bone-cutter.  
  
Diana Fowley dragged Scully from the room and through a hall filled with SWAT and FBI   
  
Unit Two members. The leader sent the news to Skinner by radio.  
  
"Unit Two here. We have located Agent Scully... Over."  
  
"Ugly Wolf here," Skinner answered. "Is she OK?... Over."  
  
"I'm afraid not. A woman has taken her hostage. Agent Scully has her hands tied behind   
  
her back and her kidnapper has a scalpel at her throat. It also looks like Agent Scully is   
  
wounded, since her clothes are stained with blood... What shall we do...? Over."  
  
"Don't do anything you'll regret later. Let them walk towards the warehouse exit. From   
  
there, we'll surround them from inside and outside... Over and out."  
  
Slowly, Scully and Fowley were moving through Unit One and Two members. As they   
  
were about to reach the gate that led to the dock, Skinner and his team faced the two   
  
women.  
  
"Diana Fowley!" A.D. Skinner exclaimed in surprise as he saw the woman who everybody   
  
thought was dead.  
  
"What's happening? 'The Return of the Living Dead'? Langly inquired through the radio   
  
when he heard Skinner's words.  
  
"Assistant Director Skinner, I can't say that it's nice to see you again," Fowley said   
  
sarcastically.  
  
"I'd say the same, Agent Fowley. Scully, you OK...?" Skinner asked.  
  
"I..." Scully tried to speak, but Diana brought the scalpel closer to Scully's mouth, tacitly   
  
*persuading* her to keep quiet.  
  
"She'll be OK as long as I'm OK, so you and your hunting dogs better not do anything   
  
stupid. Now open the door!" Fowley shouted.  
  
Skinner did not say a word. SWAT team members who where guarding the gate waited for   
  
instructions from the Assistant Director.  
  
"Didn't you hear me? Open the damn door right now or else the redhead dies with her   
  
throat cut, like a Thanksgiving turkey!" Diana roared, making the gesture with the scalpel   
  
as she was going to cut Scully's throat.  
  
"Open the door..." Skinner finally ordered.  
  
Fowley and her hostage walked until they reached the dock's edge, where a launch was   
  
moored.  
  
"Dark Angel to Big Bad Wolf... I have Fowley at six o'clock. Waiting for orders... Over." One   
  
sniper said from the terraced roof of a nearby warehouse.  
  
"Big Bad Wolf here. Don't even breath. That mad woman has nothing to lose..." Skinner   
  
whispered, warning the sniper.  
  
"You're right, Skinner," Diana assured him when she heard Skinner speak into the radio.   
  
"And this is to demonstrate that I'm not kidding..." Fowley added, cutting Scully on the left   
  
side of her neck slightly, close to jugular vein.  
  
Scully cried out in pain. The Assistant Director trembled in fear.  
  
"Big Bad Wolf to Dark Angel... Take down your rifle..." Skinner said. Then, raising his voice,   
  
he spoke again. "All units overlooking the warehouse and dock area put down your   
  
weapons immediately!"  
  
A.D. Skinner seemed to be giving up.  
  
"I see that we've reached an agreement," Diana Fowley said as she untied the launch. "Dear   
  
Dana, are you ready to get in the boat?" she added, lifting Scully and boarding the launch   
  
without giving Skinner's team the chance to shoot her. Then, she turned the engine on.   
  
"Byeeeee!"  
  
As the launch sped away from the dock, Diana Fowley pushed Scully onto the deck. At that   
  
moment, Fowley was an easy target for any sniper. Walter Skinner immediately ordered   
  
units to open fire on her from both the terraces and the Aquatic Unit, but, inexplicably,   
  
none of the shots hit the mad kidnapper, whose vessel was hidden by the night's darkness   
  
and reached the Atlantic Ocean through Chesapeake Bay. The Aquatic Unit tried to go after   
  
it, but the Coast Guard vessels were too heavy to pursue such a small boat. Skinner decided   
  
to ask for some better support.  
  
"Attention! This is an emergency message. It's Walter Skinner, Washington D.C. FBI   
  
Assistant Director. I repeat. This is an emergency message... I am asking all U.S. Navy   
  
ships in the Chesapeake Bay area for help locating a stolen launch in which a highly   
  
dangerous woman and her hostage - an FBI Agent - have gotten away... Over."  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
U.S.S. CLEVELAND  
  
10 MILES OFF VIRGINIA'S COAST  
  
"Sir, we've just received an emergency message. It seems to be from a certain Assistant   
  
Director Skinner of the FBI," the radio operator said to his superior officer. Then the   
  
operator ran as fast as he could to the Captain's office where he started studying a   
  
coordinates map of the Atlantic Ocean.  
  
"I will respond to the message," the superior officer said, standing up and striding rapidly   
  
towards the radio microphone. "U.S.S. Cleveland here. This is Captain William   
  
Scully, Jr.... Over."  
  
"It's Walter Skinner, from Hampton dock, Virginia. Are you Bill Scully, Special Agent   
  
Dana Scully's brother...? Over."  
  
"Yes, I am, Mr. Skinner... It's a small world, isn't it? What can the U.S. Navy do for the   
  
FBI...? Over."  
  
"It's about your sister, Dana. She has been taken hostage and her kidnapper has left this   
  
dock in a launch. Their whereabouts are unknown... Over," Skinner said.  
  
Captain Scully grimaced before speaking again.  
  
"And where is Mulder and my nephew?...Over," he said.  
  
"William is fine, but Mulder and Special Agent Monica Reyes are missing in South Dakota.   
  
Assistant Director Follmer and Special Agent John Doggett are looking for them now. We   
  
don't have any news on either of them because communications are down in that state...   
  
Over."  
  
"OK. Right now we're heading for Fort Raleigh, so we'll change direction and go   
  
northwest to Chesapeake Bay... Over and out."  
  
--------------------------------  
  
MOUNT RUSHMORE  
  
KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA  
  
9:17 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)  
  
Mulder and Reyes had been confined to two rooms, one next to the other, which were   
  
guarded by two MPs. The attitude of each prisoner was the opposite of the other. Mulder   
  
didn't stop pacing around the room, resembling an expectant father in the waiting room of a   
  
hospital's maternity ward. He would sit down on his bed, then he would stand up, then he   
  
would sit down again, throw the pillow against the door, swear in a lowered voice and   
  
blame himself for believing that the cases Doggett had brought to him had been worth   
  
investigating. It was more than obvious now that the cases had just been bait to lure him   
  
and Reyes from Washington and keep them away from Scully and William... But away for   
  
what reason? Had Doggett been deceived? Could Doggett have had anything to do with this   
  
plot...?  
  
No. Mulder couldn't believe it. It was inconceivable that his colleague, who had risked his   
  
own life time and again to protect Scully when he, Mulder, was absent, could have done   
  
this. This was a man who had done everything possible to find him when he had been   
  
abducted, who had risked his beloved Monica, by putting her in charge of Scully when   
  
Scully gave birth to William, and the man who had become the enemy of half the FBI by   
  
keeping the X-Files section open. Even though Mulder didn't agree with Doggett about   
  
investigation issues and procedures, he, Mulder, regarded the new X-Files section chief as   
  
an ally and a relentless agent. He now solved the cases Mulder couldn't solve after being   
  
fired by Deputy Director Kersh...  
  
Reyes felt completely dominated by fear. Such a terrible fear that it seemed like it was   
  
about to turn into horror. Ever since she and Mulder had come to after the *abduction*, she   
  
had been exposed to images and sounds in which she could see and hear Scully and   
  
William being taken out of a car by force. Then she could see Doggett being deadly shot.   
  
Seconds after, Doggett, wounded, but standing up and embracing a kid who looked like   
  
Luke, though he was a little older. A laughing woman was cutting Scully's chest and neck   
  
with a scalpel. Doggett was standing in the middle of a forest, crying in despair for his son.   
  
Then there was a burst of bullets, a baby wailing, Brad Follmer's voice, scolding Doggett, a   
  
huge glowing light coming from Mount Rushmore and a picture of Luke, dressed up as a   
  
U.S. Marine...  
  
"Noooooo! That's enough!" Monica shouted, falling face down on her bed, weeping.  
  
Doggett and Follmer heard those screams of horror as they walked along the endless halls   
  
of the military complex, without any clear destination. Both of them recognized the owner   
  
of the voice immediately. Doggett, using all of his senses, which had been sharpened   
  
during his years in the Marines, set the route.  
  
"Over there. I couldn't miss that voice, even if it was underwater," Doggett said to Follmer   
  
confidently.  
  
"As you order, *General*," Follmer replied sarcastically, following Doggett.  
  
Both agents, disguised as soldiers, soon approached two military policemen guarding the   
  
door of Mulder's and Reyes' rooms. The MPs were angry due to Monica's screams, and   
  
one of them was pounding on the door and ordering her to be quiet. From the other room,   
  
Mulder shouted at them to leave Reyes alone.  
  
"Oh, you two have finally come to replace us!" the other MP exclaimed as he saw Doggett   
  
and Follmer. "We can't stand that mad woman anymore..."  
  
Doggett and Follmer looked at each other from the corner of their eyes.  
  
"Yes, we're here to replace you... Why is that woman screaming so much?" Follmer asked.  
  
"She says that she sees and hears 'things,' and the guy from the other room keeps pacing   
  
around like a tiger locked in a cage," the guard to Mulder's room commented.  
  
"May we see the girl?" Doggett inquired, trying to hide the sling around his left arm with   
  
his rifle.  
  
"Of course," the guard said. "Maybe she's nuts but she is gorgeous..." he added as he lifted   
  
the key card to open the electronic door. "Hey, why do you have your left arm in a sling?   
  
Wait a second... You're not Wilkins!"  
  
A harsh bash on the head from Doggett's rifle butt was the only answer the soldier received   
  
when he realized that the replacements were imposters. Follmer immobilized the other MP   
  
before he could even repel the attack.  
  
"No, I'm not Wilkins," Doggett said to his unconscious counterpart.  
  
"And I'm not Hurst either, Private Roberts," A.D. Follmer added, aiming his gun at the   
  
other soldier and forcing him to face the wall so he could handcuff him.  
  
"Monica!" Doggett exclaimed as he entered the room in which Reyes had been imprisoned.  
  
"Oh, John! John!" she managed to say before bursting into tears and hugging him tightly.  
  
"Aaaahhh!" Doggett cried as Monica unintentionally squeezed his wounded left arm.  
  
"Oh, my God! So what I saw was true... You were shot!" she said. Then she put her hand   
  
on Doggett's forehead. "John, you're burning up..."  
  
"It doesn't matter now, Mon."  
  
"And Scully and the baby... And Lu-?"  
  
Doggett didn't let her finish her question but hugged her, putting his head against hers in   
  
order to whisper in her ear.  
  
"Don't tell anyone. He is... alive. I saw him. I embraced him as I'm embracing you now...   
  
then..."  
  
"I saw it, John. Don't ask me how I know, but I believe you. What you saw was real."  
  
"Hey, get me out of here! Doggett, Reyes, Follmer!" Mulder interrupted them, shouting   
  
from the other cell, kicking the door.  
  
"Forgive me for interfering your little love chat, but would you two mind helping me open   
  
this door?" Follmer said, trying to be as annoying as possible. "The damn card doesn't   
  
work..."  
  
"I don't think it'll be necessary to use it. Step aside! Mulder, keep away from the door!"   
  
Doggett pointed his gun, wielding it with his trembling right hand.  
  
The shot was accurate and hit the electronic lock, despite the fact that had fired with his less   
  
able hand. Follmer pushed the door open and Mulder came out, coughing because of the   
  
smoke and sparks that were coming from the destroyed electronic device.  
  
"...Doggett, Director Follmer..." Mulder coughed. "On behalf of the four presidents, Agent   
  
Reyes and I welcome you to Mount Rushmore's basement..." Mulder said, coughing again.   
  
"*Doggie*, we've been cut off since we get here. Did you receive telepathic messages from   
  
Monica...?" he added, and then looked down at Doggett's wounded left arm. "Doggett, your   
  
arm..."  
  
"This isn't a good time for jokes, Mulder. Terrible things have happened in Washington,"   
  
John Doggett said, bowing his head.  
  
"Adviser Mulder, Agent Scully and her son, William, were kidnapped and, during the   
  
attack, Agent Doggett was shot three times... Margaret Scully is unharmed," Follmer told   
  
Mulder.  
  
"WHAAAAAT?" Mulder's eyes were so wide, they looked like they were about to jump   
  
out of their sockets.  
  
"An FBI-SWAT task force has been deployed. Director Skinner is leading the search of the   
  
Maryland and Virginia area personally. We don't know whether they've succeeded because   
  
no communication signals have been coming in or out of South Dakota. That's why we had   
  
to come here to locate you two," Doggett informed Mulder.  
  
"Let's go!" Mulder exclaimed. Although he had tried his best to calm down, his lack of   
  
composure indicated that he was about to fall apart. "I think we should leave these guys to   
  
replace us," he said, looking at the MPs. Then, he *invited* the one soldier to enter   
  
Monica's cell, pointing the rifle Doggett had given to him, while Doggett and Follmer   
  
started dragging the unconscious MP into the other cell.  
  
The four agents ran from the cells, carrying two extra rifles. They had no idea how they   
  
were going to escape from the underground facility.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
HOG ISLAND  
  
ALONG VIRGINIA'S COAST  
  
11:42 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
The launch Diana Fowley and Dana Scully had boarded went quickly through the icy   
  
Atlantic Ocean despite the darkness. Far away from them, the only source of light was the   
  
old lighthouse of Hog Island, a rocky piece of land and part of the group of small islands   
  
along Chesapeake Bay. Scully had been knocked unconscious when Fowley had shoved her   
  
onto the deck. She had hit her head on an oar that had been stored on the launch in case the   
  
launch ever ran out of fuel. During the trip without a clear destination, Diana Fowley didn't   
  
stop talking to Scully or herself about colonization, alien viruses, clones and unbeatable   
  
super soldiers.  
  
When Dana came to, the first thing she saw was the oar her head had struck. She untied   
  
herself, stood up carefully and lifted the oar, creeping towards Fowley to hit her with this   
  
*weapon*. But as Scully was about to strike her, Diana turned around and dodged the   
  
attack. Then she fell upon Dana using her amazing strength. The two women rolled over   
  
the deck. The launch kept on its course, straight to the lighthouse.  
  
Fowley grabbed Scully by the throat and started squeezing it, attempting to strangle her.   
  
Scully desperately struggled to release herself from her enemy, but it was impossible due to   
  
the difference in their strength. Then a strong wave suddenly jolted the launch. Scully took   
  
advantage of the distraction, breaking free from her attacker and recovering the oar...  
  
"Are you stupid? Do you really think you can beat me with an oar?" Fowley challenged   
  
Scully.  
  
"It doesn't matter. We're both going to die anyway..." Scully said, pointing to Hog Island   
  
with her index finger. It was less than 30 meters away from them.  
  
"You're wrong... You'll die but I won't!" Diana Fowley replied. Then she ran across the   
  
deck and took control of the rudder. Scully also ran across the deck and towards Fowley.   
  
She hit Fowley on the head with the oar, but it didn't hurt Fowley at all.  
  
"Ha, ha, ha!" Fowley mocked Dana. "I told you..."  
  
Scully had second thoughts and, instead of hitting Diana, she began to destroy the launch   
  
control panel.  
  
"What are you doing?" Fowley demanded as she raised her hands to protect herself from   
  
the sparks and smoke that were coming out of the control panel due to the short circuit   
  
Scully had caused in the system.  
  
"I'm making sure that I won't die alone," Scully answered.  
  
Diana Fowley and Dana Scully started fighting again, forgetting the vessel's rudder once   
  
again. The launch rocked from one side to another as the two women rolled from port to   
  
starboard, nearly causing the launch to capsize. As they struggled, Diana took a scalpel   
  
from her pocket, but Scully was able to snatch it from her. Fowley pushed Dana with the   
  
oar, and Dana fell on her back. As Fowley leapt on top of the other agent, Scully thrust the   
  
scalpel into her enemy's side as if it were a dagger.  
  
The launch crashed into the rocks of Hog Island and broke into a thousand pieces.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
MOUNT RUSHMORE  
  
KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA  
  
10:48 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)  
  
Doggett, Reyes, Mulder and Follmer tried to find an escape route. The alarms inside the   
  
Mount Rushmore hidden complex had gone off and soldiers were pursuing the agents.   
  
Mulder and Follmer formed the vanguard, while Doggett and Reyes were positioned as the   
  
rearguard. Their way to freedom seemed like it was an endless distance away. The four   
  
fugitives had had to shoot five soldiers who had tried to block their way. A bullet had   
  
grazed Follmer's left forearm slightly.  
  
When they reached the hangar Follmer and Doggett had seen when they first entered the   
  
facility, Mulder gazed at the strange aircrafts in wonder.  
  
"I have an idea! Doggett, when you trained to be a U.S. Marine, did you attend any basic   
  
flight lessons?" he asked Doggett.  
  
"I did but we only covered theory. I just had a couple of flight simulator lessons... Why the   
  
question?" Doggett asked, looking at the military planes. "Hey, you aren't thinking of..."   
  
Doggett stared at Mulder in disbelief.  
  
"If anyone has a better suggestion, speak now or forever hold your peace."  
  
"It's crazy, Mulder. If the soldiers chasing us don't kill us, we'll kill ourselves by crashing   
  
into the mountains, assuming we're able to get one of these things off the ground," Follmer   
  
pointed out, betraying the slight trace of a British accent.  
  
"Gentlemen, I think that Mulder is right. We don't have any other choice, so let's hop on   
  
board one of those aircrafts, airplanes or whatever they're called... OK *Doggie*?" Monica   
  
Reyes said, slapping Doggett's back lightly.  
  
"Ha! 'Doggie'. What a ridiculous nickname!" A.D. Follmer stated sarcastically.  
  
"Brad, don't make fun of us!" Reyes cried, knitting her eyebrows in annoyance.  
  
"Come on, *Doggie*! I hope you have a good memory," Mulder interjected, breaking the   
  
tense environment that was about to explode from the three different elements of that weird   
  
love triangle.  
  
The three FBI Agents and the External Adviser moved stealthily through the hangar and   
  
broke into the working area, surprising the scientists and the few soldiers who were there.   
  
One of the soldiers was able to react a fraction of a second before his comrades and opened   
  
fire on Monica. She was miraculously saved by Doggett, who pushed her to the ground. As   
  
Doggett cleared Monica from the path of the bullets, he fell over her and they lay facing   
  
each other, just millimeters apart. They both felt a slight charge of electricity between them,   
  
causing them to tingle from head to toe, but, given the pressing circumstances of that   
  
moment, they could go no further than to revel in the sensation of their breath tickling each   
  
other's skin. Then they both stood up and Doggett headed for one of the frightened   
  
scientists.  
  
"Tell me if any of these planes are ready to fly," he said.  
  
The scientist did not answer him.  
  
"Did you not understand me? Tell me if any of these #%&*in' planes can take us out of   
  
here!" Doggett roared furiously, grabbing the man by the collar of his T-shirt.  
  
"John, calm down! Reyes begged him.  
  
"Oooo...Ooonnnlyyyy...thaaat..." the scientist managed to say, pointing at the third of the   
  
four planes.  
  
"So, get it ready for take off. We'd like to stay here and chat with all of you about the latest   
  
technology, but we have to go," Mulder said as he walked over to the aircraft.  
  
"But I would like you to stay with us for a long time..." a well-known and hated voice said.   
  
It was a voice Mulder had heard too many times during the past nine years.  
  
The Cigarette Smoking Man was sitting in his wheelchair and was accompanied by at least   
  
20 well-armed men. The soldiers who had been among the scientists immediately took   
  
away the weapons the four members of the FBI were carrying.  
  
"We have been informed that the experiment in Hampton failed due to Skinner's   
  
intervention," the evil man said.  
  
"In Hampton, Virginia?" Adviser Mulder inquired.  
  
"That's right. Your son is already with the FBI team, but Agent Scully and Agent Fowley   
  
disappeared in a launch on the high seas..."  
  
"What do you mean...? Diana died a long time ago."  
  
"I have also been *dead* several times and look at me. Should you be amazed?"  
  
"So, if the experiment in Hampton failed, why don't you just let us go now?" Doggett   
  
asked.  
  
"Agent Doggett, what you have seen has been classified information since 1942 and *no   
  
one* must know about it," the Cigarette Smoking Man said. "So, there are two choices   
  
open to us."  
  
"Which are?" Follmer questioned.  
  
"The first choice is to eliminate all of you because what you know is dangerous to the   
  
national security of the United States of America," Cigarette Smoking Man said.  
  
"And the second one?" Reyes asked him.  
  
"We send you to a psychiatric hospital under false identities, as we did with Agent Fowley,   
  
claiming that you're all mad and-"  
  
The words of their old enemy were silenced by a burst of shots coming from a group of   
  
armed men in black uniforms and balaclavas. These unexpected defenders appeared from   
  
nowhere and gave rise to mass pandemonium. There were bullets everywhere. Cigarette   
  
Smoking Man was quickly escorted from the hangar by his soldiers.  
  
Taking advantage of the chaos, Mulder, Doggett, Reyes and Follmer recovered their   
  
weapons, and, realizing that the new attackers hadn't opened fire on them but only on the   
  
Cigarette Smoking Man and his team, the four aimed their own weapons towards their   
  
mutual target. The sound of bullets rang in their ears.  
  
In the middle of the shoot-out, one of the men in black uniforms - the only one who didn't   
  
have his face covered and who seemed to be the leader - walked over to Doggett.  
  
"We'll cover you. Go!" the man said.  
  
What surprised Doggett was not what this person told him, but his *face*.  
  
"Luke?!" Doggett exclaimed.  
  
As Monica heard that name pronounced by Doggett, she turned around and saw what her   
  
partner was seeing. She stared at the stranger in bewilderment. This person had the same   
  
face as Luke but the body of a young man who was seventeen. It was as if she were seeing   
  
a teenage Agent Doggett...  
  
"Excuse me. What did you just call me?" the man resembling Luke asked Doggett.  
  
"You... you look like someone I know... my son who would be turning eleven the day after   
  
tomorrow, September 7th... His name is Luke John Doggett," Doggett said, wiping sweat   
  
from his forehead. The fever had started bothering him again.  
  
"I have never heard that name and it's not my name. It has to just be a coincidence, though   
  
I was also born on September 7th, but I'll be turning eighteen. I'm in a secret military   
  
academy."  
  
"Which academy? Where?" Reyes asked, impressed.  
  
A bullet shot past the three of them, and they crouched down in a reflexive movement. The   
  
projectile hit the control panel of an electric device behind them.  
  
"That's all I can say. Now get on the aircraft!" the young cadet urged them.  
  
"We don't know how to pilot it," Doggett replied.  
  
"In that case, you should take one of these guys with you. They can tell you what to do,"   
  
their anonymous ally said as he started shooting, making his way to the scientists along   
  
with Doggett and Reyes.  
  
"You will go with them," the cadet said coldly to one of the scientists.  
  
The man, intimidated by the barrels of three rifles, didn't have any other choice but to obey   
  
the cadet. The group headed for Mulder and Follmer, who had found a safe spot in the   
  
hangar that allowed them to remain protected and save bullets by only shooting at the   
  
enemy when necessary.  
  
"Mulder, we've got a co-pilot. Let's go!" Doggett shouted.  
  
As the cadet and some of his men covered the agents while they entered the aircraft, the   
  
roof of the hangar began to open like the dome of an astronomic observatory. The clear and   
  
starry autumn sky of South Dakota could soon be seen.  
  
Doggett was the last to board the aircraft. He was about to follow his colleagues when he   
  
stopped.  
  
"Tell me who you are... Why are you helping us?" Doggett begged the cadet.  
  
Instead of hearing an answer, Doggett's ears were filled with the sound of gunfire. Several   
  
shots hit the cadet, killing him. A grayish green liquid began to seep through the bullet   
  
holes. Doggett stepped inside the plane quickly. He already knew the harmful effects this   
  
liquid had on human beings. Before closing the hatch, the agent stared in astonishment as   
  
the body of the boy resembling Luke disintegrated in front of his eyes.  
  
The lights of the aircraft came on. Inside the plane, the crew was getting ready to take off.  
  
"Can this plane rise vertically like a Harrier?" Agent Doggett asked the scientist, sitting   
  
down in one of the two front seats of the plane and looking at the huge control panel made   
  
up of indicators, switches and buttons.  
  
"Not only vertically, but in any direction. After all, this is a 'UFO' as far as the rest of the   
  
world is concerned," the scientist said.  
  
"What weapons do we have to defend ourselves?" Mulder asked as he glanced at the other   
  
control panel on the left side of the aircraft, similar to the other two, placed on the right and   
  
posterior sections of the plane.  
  
"We have everything from conventional artillery to medium-range ballistic rockets and   
  
virtual shields that enable aircrafts to seem *invisible* in broad daylight. But this plane   
  
doesn't have that device installed," the scientist said.  
  
"Let's trade in this plane. I want an invisible one," Mulder joked.  
  
"External Adviser Mulder, please," Brad Follmer said, berating him from the back seat of   
  
the plane.  
  
"OK, OK. Let's get this plane off the ground, then. I'll take the left flank and, Monica, you   
  
can take the right flank," Mulder said.  
  
"Well, here we go!" Doggett announced, switching on the controls the scientist had   
  
instructed him to use. "Mulder... do you remember what I told you about my flight   
  
simulator lessons?" he added.  
  
"Yes. Why?" the External Adviser asked.  
  
"I lied. I only attended two theoretical classes on flying basics. I never got on a simulator..."  
  
"What a time to tell us, *Dumbo*!" Reyes rebuked Doggett.  
  
"God, don't call me that, Mon..." Doggett complained, touching his right ear.  
  
"If we make it out of this alive, I'll be making fun of you for the rest of your life," Mulder   
  
mocked. "*Dumbo*? Ha, ha, ha!"  
  
As the aircraft ascended towards the opening in the roof, hundreds of bullets hit the plane's   
  
structure without causing any damage. In less than fifteen seconds, the flying object had   
  
gone through the opening and had reached the wide-open sky.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
HOG ISLAND  
  
ALONG VIRGINIA'S COAST  
  
12:04 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
Although Scully had miraculously survived when the launch had crashed, the strong waves   
  
were pushing her against the rocky shore on which the sea ended and the land began. The   
  
agent could barely keep floating on those dark waters, in spite of being the daughter and   
  
sister of sailors. Although she had spent most of her childhood and teen years around ships   
  
and ports, she was not exactly a good swimmer.  
  
With the little strength that remained after everything that had happened, Scully just   
  
managed to pull herself out of the water. Then, she climbed painfully up the rocks and   
  
headed for the lighthouse, grabbing the roots of plants as if they were rope. Once Dana had   
  
completed her hard ascent, she reached a relatively flat surface that was similar to a stone   
  
path. This path led to the lighthouse, and Scully ran to the old building to ask for help. As   
  
she approached the rusty door and knocked on it, the door opened on its own, screeching   
  
noisily on its hinges.  
  
"Hellooo! Is there anybody here?" she asked.  
  
No answer. Stepping into the lighthouse, Scully repeated her greeting.  
  
"Is there anybody here? I need help!" she shouted.  
  
Going upstairs, Dana Scully saw the tower's massive electric light, as well as the   
  
mechanism that controlled it. There was nobody there. Nevertheless, inside what appeared   
  
to be the lighthouse operator's dormitory, Scully found some food and radio equipment. A   
  
radio...! As soon as Scully saw it, she ran to it and...  
  
"Attention. This is Special Agent Dana Scu-" She stopped speaking into the radio when she   
  
realized it was broken.  
  
"Damn it!" she yelled in fury.  
  
The radio didn't work. That's why the lighthouse operator isn't there, Scully thought.   
  
Maybe he had left the island in order to report the damage, in which case the Virginia coast   
  
shouldn't be too far. It would certainly take into account how quickly she and Diana   
  
Fowley had reached Hog Island. But why hadn't he returned and why had the lighthouse   
  
been left completely unattended? Wasn't it at night when the lighthouse operator had to pay   
  
the closest attention to ships in case of potential accidents or emergencies?  
  
It was after midnight and she wasn't the one who was supposed to be answering those   
  
questions, so she decided that the most sensible thing she could do was rest and wait for   
  
daylight. However, rest did not mean *sleep* because it was inconceivable for her to fall   
  
asleep without having any news about William and Mulder...  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
INSIDE THE F-118  
  
OVER INDIANA AIR SPACE  
  
12:55 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
After leaving Mount Rushmore, the *UFO*, which was actually an F-118 prototype that   
  
was triangular in shape, was being pursued by eight USAF F-16s. The pilots had been   
  
ordered to shoot down the strange flying object.  
  
The F-118 broke the sound barrier, and its crew managed to evade their pursuers and shoot   
  
down four of the enemy planes by using light artillery. The frantic air chase through the   
  
skies of South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois had lasted almost two hours.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, please set your watches to Eastern Standard Time because we have   
  
just entered the state of Indiana!" External Adviser Mulder informed the rest of the crew as   
  
he stared out at what he thought was Port Gary, at the shore of Lake Michigan.  
  
"You'd better watch out, Mulder. Target at 8:00..." Doggett warned him, looking at the   
  
radar screen.  
  
"Come on. Closer, closer... a little closer and you'll see what *Spooky* has for you, piece   
  
of scrap from the Wright brothers," Mulder said as he saw an F-16 enter into shooting   
  
range.  
  
"We are at Mach 2.5 and rising. It's not a good idea to shoot at a moving target using the   
  
heavy artillery at that speed. It's only safe to use the heavy artillery against unmoving   
  
targets at this point," the scientist pointed out in concern.  
  
"That's true. A 70-millimeter rocket could explode inside the cannon and cause the other   
  
rockets to go off in a kind of domino effect," Doggett added. "It's better to use the 30-  
  
millimeter rockets. They're safer."  
  
"But it would be the same as trying to defend ourselves by throwing stones at them. We   
  
wouldn't be able to shoot them down," Follmer stated from behind. "By the way, we have   
  
two F-16s breathing down the back of our necks..."  
  
"I have another one on the right!" Agent Reyes shouted.  
  
"The armour-plating of these planes weaken if it is shot twice in the same spot," Doggett   
  
said. "But it would be better if... tighten your safebelts!"  
  
Taking the command lever firmly in his right hand, John Doggett maneuvered the plane   
  
downwards, placing the aircraft in a vertical position. The F-16s tried to imitate the   
  
maneuver, but their engines were not powerful enough to maintain it. Then, the F-118   
  
turned upwards, facing the planes pursuing it.  
  
"Let's see who steps aside first, birdies!" Doggett challenged, tapping his fingers nervously   
  
on the lever. "In case this doesn't work, Mulder, Monica, are you two ready to open fire at   
  
them if they don't turn away?" he asked.  
  
"OK, *Doggie*," Mulder said.  
  
"I'm ready, *Dumbo*," Reyes announced.  
  
The four F-16s and the F-118 were coming at each other from opposite directions. They   
  
were less than 500 meters apart. A fatal crash was about to occur in just a matter of   
  
seconds. Doggett turned the plane right, then left, forcing two of the F-16s to move in a   
  
zigzag, crossing dangerously close to each other.  
  
"Now, Mulder! Shooooot!" Dogget yelled.  
  
To evade the rockets, one pilot turned his plane left while the other turned right. Their   
  
wings crashed into each other and both planes exploded in a huge display of fireworks.  
  
"Yeeeeeeehaaaaaa! That's what I would call killing two birds with one stone!" Mulder   
  
shouted in excitement.  
  
"Two enemies are left. One on the right and the other behind us," Reyes remembered them.  
  
The remaining F-16s shot four 65-millimeter rockets simultaneously. All of the rockets hit   
  
the right wing of the F-118.  
  
"We're hit! We're hit!" Monica exclaimed.  
  
"But they won't be able to shoot us down, will they?" Doggett asked the scientist.  
  
"There were too many shots taken in the one area of the prototype's armour-plating and,   
  
even though it's stronger than other aircraft, it still weakens if it's hit several times,   
  
especially by high-powered rockets."  
  
"Damn!" Doggett cursed in a lower voice. "What's our cruising radius?"  
  
"We have fuel for about two and a half hours, maybe three. A military plane like this has   
  
never been tested under extreme conditions or forced to fly with a damaged fuselage,   
  
either," the scientist indicated.  
  
"Is it enough to get us to Virginia?" Fox Mulder asked.  
  
"Virginia?" Follmer said.  
  
"It's obvious they're not planning to give us a warm welcome at Andrews Base in   
  
Washington. What's more, the U.S. Air Force bases all over the country will probably have   
  
been informed of our escape by now," Doggett said. "We have to find a place to land near   
  
the capital... south of the city."  
  
"We could land the plane on a flat surface, like a piece of farmland," Monica suggested.  
  
"If we failed, there'd be no possibility of any of us surviving the impact. Given the   
  
weapons we have on board, the only piece of the plane, or any of us, that would remain   
  
would be no bigger than the head of a nail..." The scientist stated.  
  
"I have an F-16 in target position!" Follmer said from the rear of the plane. "Here's a   
  
present for you, from England with love!"  
  
"Follmer, don't! We're at Mach 3!" Doggett shouted.  
  
A.D. Follmer didn't pay any attention to Doggett and shot two 70-millimeter rockets. The   
  
F-16 broke into thousands of pieces, but the wave of the explosion reached the F-118,   
  
causing strong turbulence that made the plane lose altitude.  
  
"It was extremely irresponsible of you, Director Follmer... We could have died!" Doggett   
  
shouted after he managed to stabilize the plane.  
  
"We might still make it back to Washington, even if it's in a pottery vessel..." Follmer   
  
argued pessimistically.  
  
"Only one left. It's mine," Doggett said firmly. "Do you see all those light above the   
  
mountains there? They're the flight control lights of the Appalachian Mountains. If we can   
  
get beyond them, we're saved."  
  
The F-118 increased its speed to Mach 3.2 and headed for the summit of the Appalachians,   
  
on the Kentucky-West Virginia border. The only F-16 remaining fired another shot at the   
  
right wing of the prototype, trying to penetrate the plane's plating and ignite the fuel,   
  
which, in turn, would cause the plane to explode. One of the rockets hit the wing tip, but the   
  
other one crashed against some rocks on the Appalachians. Doggett kept leading the plane   
  
towards the mountains.  
  
"Director Follmer, aim at the F-16 so that the rockets go just above it," Doggett ordered.   
  
"And, please, this time use the 30-millimeter projectiles."  
  
"What are you going to do, John?" Reyes asked Doggett.  
  
"You'll see..." Doggett said.  
  
"Target intercepted," Follmer stated.  
  
"OK, here we go... FIRE!" Agent Doggett shouted.  
  
Follmer opened fire on the pursuer plane. The F-16 dove to evade the rockets.  
  
"Mulder, Monica, shoot at the control lights!" Doggett said.  
  
Mulder and Reyes shot at the light control towers, which erupted into flames. Doggett   
  
immediately raised the aircraft 90 degrees. The F-16 that had been pursuing them suddenly   
  
collided with the burning towers and became a ball of fire itself, exploding a few seconds   
  
later.  
  
"That was spectacular, Doggett! Why aren't you a combat pilot?" Mulder asked excitedly   
  
as he watched the incandescent pieces of the last F-16 shower down on the mountain.  
  
"Would you believe me if I told you I'm acrophobic?" Doggett said, a hint of humour in his   
  
voice.  
  
"No kidding. If that's true and we're still alive tomorrow, I'll kill you. Do you hear me,   
  
John Jay Doggett?" Monica Reyes said in a threatening tone.  
  
"I hope we will see the dawn," the scientist stated. "The damage to the right wing is more   
  
serious than I first realized. We are losing power in the right engines. We'll need to reduce   
  
speed if we're going to keep flying."  
  
"No way. The slower we go, the longer it will take to get there," Doggett said.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
USS CLEVELAND  
  
76° WEST, 37° NORTH  
  
ALONG VIRGINIA'S COAST  
  
3:27 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
Several fragments from the launch floated towards the ship commanded by Captain Bill   
  
Scully Jr. Skinner, who had boarded the ship along with FBI and SWAT team members,   
  
the Lone Gunmen and little William, recognized the pieces at once. This was, undoubtedly,   
  
bad news. The salvage order would now become a *recovery* effort, as everyone assumed   
  
that both women had died. Nevertheless, Captain Scully still had some faith.  
  
"Lieutenant Harding, have all lighthouse operators been contacted by the Navy and the   
  
Coast Guard? Have they seen anything?" he asked his first officer.  
  
"All of them except for one, sir. We've tried to get through to the Hog Island lighthouse   
  
several times, but we've received no answer. The closest lighthouse from there is the   
  
Parramore Island lighthouse, whose operator told us that he hadn't seen anything unusual,   
  
but that he also hadn't been able to get through to his colleague in Hog," Harding answered.  
  
"We're not far from Hog Island. We should go there. Dana might have managed to reach   
  
that island," Bill said.  
  
"Captain, look at that!" a cabin boy shouted, pointing at the sky.  
  
"What the hell...?" Director Skinner exclaimed.  
  
"It looks like a piece of meteorite or a small burning plane... I'm not very experienced in   
  
aeronautics, but I'd swear that it's a Northrop B-2 Spirit or something similar..." Captain   
  
Bill Scully Jr. conjectured.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
INSIDE THE F-118  
  
The aircraft's surface was burning like a torch, due to the friction caused by the speed at   
  
which the plane descended, on a diagonal angle, towards the Atlantic Ocean. The flying   
  
object was about to run out of fuel, and its engines had been forced to work beyond their   
  
limits during the three hours in which the inexperienced "crew" of the F-118 had been   
  
preparing for imminent emergency aquaplaning. The possibility of survival was minimal. If   
  
the plane didn't explode when it crashed into the water, it would probably sink along with   
  
its "pilots". Likewise, if the plane didn't sink and they didn't drown, Doggett, Reyes,   
  
Mulder, Follmer and the scientist could die of hypothermia if they remained in the cold   
  
ocean too long.  
  
"I hope you've all paid your life insurance quotas..." Doggett joked, trying to keep the F-  
  
118 as horizontal as he could.  
  
"John...!" Reyes barely managed to shout before the aircraft crashed into the ocean.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
The USS Cleveland immediately headed to the point of impact, which was one mile away   
  
from their current location. The military vessel reached the aircraft nine minutes later.   
  
Fortunately, the plane hadn't disintegrated on impact, but the five people on board were   
  
trapped inside.  
  
The plane's metallic structure melted like chocolate because of the heat that had been   
  
generated through friction. In order to prevent the plane from sinking into the ocean, Bill   
  
Scully ordered his crew to suspend it from the ship using two cables. Then the mechanical   
  
engineers on board tried to open the hatch with blowlamps and drills, tools that were   
  
usually used to make repairs to the ship. After a long and exhausting struggle between the   
  
tools and the strong alloy of the F-118, the hatch gave way and allowed the engineers to   
  
drill a hole in its surface, through which cries for help could be heard for the first time. The   
  
crew of the plane hadn't sustained any injuries, except for some bruises caused by the   
  
sudden impact with the water.  
  
It was impossible to know who was more surprised, since both the survivors and their   
  
rescuers hadn't expected to see one another at that moment, in that place, or under those   
  
circumstances. As usual, Bill Scully was very apathetic towards Mulder. They hadn't   
  
gotten along before or after William was born. On the other hand, Captain Scully hit it off   
  
with Doggett, who he hadn't met before. They appeared to have several things in common:   
  
they were both military men and shared the same kind of discipline.  
  
Once they were saved, the survivors were told the news of Scully's possible whereabouts.   
  
Despite the fever and wounds to his left arm, Doggett insisted on joining Mulder and   
  
Follmer in the rowboat they were taking to Hog Island to search for Scully. If she was still   
  
alive, she had to be there...  
  
---------------------------------  
  
HOG ISLAND  
  
5:19 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)  
  
Scully woke up before dawn. Her determination not to sleep did not last long, since her   
  
tired body was unable to obey her mind and she had been forced to close her eyes. As soon   
  
as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, the beautiful redhead stood up. The   
  
first thing she saw in the Atlantic Ocean was a warship. A frigate. A frigate like the one her   
  
brother Bill commanded.  
  
Without missing a second, Scully grabbed some flares and ran to signal the ship. From the   
  
rowboat, Mulder, Doggett and Follmer saw the light from the first flare Scully lit. They   
  
weren't able to identify Scully because it was still too dark and they were too far from the   
  
island. Follmer and Mulder rowed as fast as their arms allowed them. When they had   
  
almost reached the island, Mulder could finally see who it was...  
  
"IT'S SCULLY!" he shouted in excitement.  
  
Mulder's yell mixed with the scream of Diana Fowley, who, in spite of being stabbed in the   
  
stomach with a scalpel, had been able to make it to shore the night before, barely alive.   
  
Now she grasped Scully by the shoulders, pushing her face down.  
  
"Damn it! Diana Fowley's there too!" Doggett exclaimed angrily. "She's going to kill   
  
her..."  
  
The small rowboat had reached a point where it couldn't move any farther due to the rocks   
  
along the shore. Having no other choice, Mulder dived into the water and started swimming   
  
towards the island.  
  
"Mulder, wait! I'm coming too!" Doggett said.  
  
"Doggett, you're wounded. Let Director Follmer go," Mulder called as he swam.  
  
Doggett ignored Mulder's advice and dove into the ocean before Follmer did, forcing the   
  
latter to remain on board the boat to prevent it from drifting. A.D. Follmer chose to contact   
  
the USS Cleveland via radio and inform them that Scully had been found.  
  
On the island, Diana Fowley and Dana Scully hit each other without causing any serious   
  
harm, as their energy level was low. Fowley stood up with a struggle and lifted Scully,   
  
intending to hurl her against the rocks.  
  
"Diana, STOP!" Mulder roared, aiming his gun at Fowley.  
  
"Would you be such a coward as to shoot me in the back, Fox?" Diana dared him, releasing   
  
Scully and raising her arms.  
  
Scully stepped back, moving away from the rocks.  
  
"Don't lecture me on cowardice... Bye, Diana!" Mulder said.  
  
Mulder pulled the trigger, but his gun didn't work. It had jammed.  
  
"This isn't your best day, my dear Fox..." Fowley said sarcastically as she turned slowly to   
  
face Mulder, who kept trying to pull the trigger, unsuccessfully.  
  
A shot was heard. Diana's face froze. Then she collapsed on the ground and blood poured   
  
from her chest like a faucet. Doggett, who had only just reached the shore, given that he   
  
had had to swim with one arm, had made his shot from behind Mulder. His aim had been   
  
perfect.  
  
Scully ran to hug Mulder.  
  
"See what happens when you go away," Scully said, sobbing.  
  
"I promise I'll never leave you again..." Mulder said, embracing her tightly. "Thanks,   
  
Doggett..." he added, looking at his colleague.  
  
"You don't have to thank me for anything. On contrary, I should be begging you both for   
  
your forgiveness..." Doggett replied, struggling to make his confession.  
  
"What do you mean?" Scully asked Doggett.  
  
"All of this started because of me, so I had to make sure that I was the one to end it,"   
  
Doggett said.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
As soon as he and his partners reached the USS Cleveland, Doggett asked Captain Scully to   
  
put him through to Maggie Scully because he wanted to tell her himself that he had fulfilled   
  
his promise, and that there were three people who longed to see her.  
  
The next day, on September 7th, Mulder and Scully threw a dinner party, inviting Skinner,   
  
the Lone Gunmen and Bill Scully Jr. Bill's wife Tara, their son Matthew, and Maggie   
  
Scully, who had all travelled to D.C. as soon as they had heard the good news, had also   
  
been invited. Follmer had been kept off the guest list as the hosts feared his presence might   
  
make their last two guests uncomfortable. And they were already running late...  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
NATIONAL HOSPITAL  
  
WASHINGTON D.C.  
  
8:11 P.M.  
  
The last two guests were Doggett and Reyes, who were standing by Marita Covarrubias's   
  
bed, looking for any sign that she might regain consciousness. She was the only person who   
  
could tell Doggett the truth about Luke, who would have celebrated his eleventh birthday   
  
that day.  
  
"The doctors say that she might be unconscious for weeks, maybe months... or that it's   
  
likely she'll never wake up again..." Doggett said to Monica as they left the room and   
  
walked down the hospital corridor.  
  
"John, we have gone through Luke's death once. I don't want you to have to... for *us* to   
  
live through that tragedy again," Reyes declared in a compassionate tone.  
  
"That body we both buried, that boy we mourned for together, was not my son. We've been   
  
bearing the pain and mourning of others..." the agent said to her, showing Monica the   
  
wrinkled sheet of paper with the DNA test results.  
  
"After everything we saw in South Dakota, I'm more convinced than ever that anything is   
  
possible. Everything..." she declared, handing the piece of paper back to Doggett.  
  
"Without a doubt. In the space of less than two days, I saw three different images of my   
  
son: a skeleton that, according to science, could not be related to me at all; a kid who   
  
looked exactly like Luke would look today and who called me by a nickname only Luke   
  
would know; and a boy who had identical features but was older than Luke and turned into   
  
a shapeless mass before my eyes," Doggett said. Then he reached into his pocket and took   
  
out the small military shield from Lebanon, giving it to Reyes.  
  
"You don't need to prove anything to me," Reyes stated, surprised to see the object her   
  
partner was giving to her. "I believe you. Without a doubt," she added.  
  
"Please keep it, and... and every time you see it, please remember to not only keep your   
  
mind open but to help me keep *my* mind open as well. Monica, promise me that you   
  
won't let my hope die..." he pleaded.  
  
Both of them stopped for a second. Monica Reyes moved closer to Doggett, and, as an   
  
answer, she kissed him softly and briefly on the lips. Then, she looked at him with her deep   
  
brown eyes.  
  
"I will. I promise..." Monica said.  
  
THE END  
  
Please send comments to: rafaelzeap@terra.com 


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